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WASTE  OF  WATER  IN  NEW 
YORK  AND  ITS  REDUCTION 
BY  METERS  AND  INSPECTION 


Waste  of  water  in  new 

york  and  its  reduction  by 

meters  and  inspection 


A   REPORT  BY   JAMES  H.   FUERTES,  C.  E.,    TO 
THE      COMMITTEE     ON      WATER-SUPPLY     OF 

THE  MERCHANTS'  ASSOCIATION  OF  NEW  YORK 


ALSO 


A  DIGEST  OF  LAWS  GOVERNING  THE  USE  OF 
WATER-METERS  IN  NEW  YORK,  BY  ALFRED 
L.  MARILLEY 


AND 


A  SUMMARY  OF  PRESENT  CONDITIONS  RE- 
LATING TO  THE  WATER-SUPPLY  OF  NEW 
YORK,  BY  J.  HAMPDEN  DOUGHERTY 


JUNE,   1906 

The   Merchants'   Association   of   New  York 


TO 
226 


Copyright,  1906 

BY 

The  Merchants'  Association 
OF  New  York 


COMMITTEE  ON  WATER  SUPPLY 


HENRY  R    TOWNE,  Chairman 

EDWARD   P.  NORTH.  C.  E. 

J.  HAMPDEN  DOUGHERTY 

f^  HENRY  W.  GOODRICH 

E.  E.  OLCOTT 

ERNST  J.  LEDERLE,  PH.  D. 

FREDERICK  B.  De  BERARD,  Secretary 


h 


45450 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Prefatory:  Report  of  Committee  on  Water  Supply      .  1 

Waste  of  Water  in  New  York  and  its  Reduction  by 

Meters  and  Inspection    By  James  H.  Fuertes,  C.  E.    .  11 

Summary  of  Conclusions 13 

Part          I :     Methods  for  Controlling  Loss  of  Water  17 

Part        II :     The  Unaccounted-for  Water    ....  44 

Part      III :     Non-Domestic  Use  of  Water  ....  50 

Part      IV :     Water  Required  for  Domestic  and  Pub- 
lic Uses 54 

Part        V:     Leakage  and  Wastage 60 

Part      VI :     On  the  yVmount  of  Water  that  May  Be 

Had  from  the  Croton  Water-Shed    .  65 

Part     VII:     Future  Conditions 72 

Part  VIII :     Practicable     Methods     of     Controlling 
Leakage  and  Wastage  in  New  York 

City 81 

Part      IX:     The   Introduction   of   Meters   in    New 

York  as  a  Business  Proposition    .     .  91 

Appendix  A :     Unaccounted-for  Water 107 

Appendix  B  :     Waste  of  Metered  Water     ....  113 

Appendix  C:     Leakagi:  from  Street  Mains     .     .     .  117 

Appendix    D:     Waste  Reduction  in  American  and 

German  Cities 127 

Part     I :     American  Cities 127 

Part  II :     German  Cities       220 


PAGE 

Group  I :  Cities  in  Which  Waste  Reduction  Has 
Accomplished  by  Metering 220 

Group  II :    Cities  in  Which  but  a  Small  Propor- 
tion of  the  Supply  Is  Metered 227 

Group  III :     Cities  in  Which  a  Large  Propor- 
tion of  the  Supply  Is  Metered 229 

Appendix  E:     List  of  References 231 

Digest  of  Laws  Governing  the  Use  of  Water  Meters  in 
New  York  City  :  By  Alfred  L.  Marilley 245 

Appendix  A :     Water  Rates  and  Regulations      .     .     251 

Summary  of  Present  Conditions  Relating  to  the 
Water  Supply  of  the  City  of  New  York:  By  Hon. 
J.  Hampden  Dougherty,  Former  Commissioner  of  Water 
Supply,  Gas  and  Electricity 253 

Index        ;     .     .     269 


PREFATORY  REPORT 
OF  COMMITTEE  ON 
WATER      SUPPLY 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE   ON   WATER 

SUPPLY. 

To   the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Merchants'  Association   of 

Nezv  York 
Gentlemen  : 

One  of  the  most  important  problems  in  connection  with  the 
City's  water  supply  is  the  prevention  of  waste  and  leakage. 

The  plans  recently  adopted  by  the  Board  of  Water  Supply, 
and  approved  by  the  State  Water  Commission,  assure  an  ample 
supply  of  water  after  the  expiration  of  eight  or  ten  years.  In 
the  interim  the  danger  of  a  water  famine  will  be  constant.  In 
dry  seasons  the  flow  of  the  Croton  River  is  frequently  less  than 
50,000,000  gallons  per  day,  while  the  present  daily  consumption 
of  water  in  Manhattan  and  The  Bronx  is  about  300,000,000 
gallons.  The  City  is  therefore  dependent  upon  stored  water  to 
supply  its  needs  during  the  periods  when  the  flow  of  the  river 
is  deficient. 

The  existing  storage  is  insufficient  to  carry  the  City  over 
a  protracted  dry  season,  unless  the  present  rate  of  consumption 
be  materially  reduced.  In  1899  and  1900  the  City  was  dependent 
for  255  days  upon  its  stored  water.  At  the  present  rate  of  con- 
sumption, in  case  of  continued  drought  the  stored  supply 
would  be  exhausted  in  245  days.  Owing  to  growth  of  popu- 
lation and  other  causes,  the  daily  consumption  of  water  is 
increasing  at  the  rate  of  15,000,000  gallons  each  year.  It  will 
probably  be  at  least  eight  years  before  any  material  increase 
of  supply  can  be  obtained.  Before  the  new  supply  is  available, 
therefore,  the  draft  upon  the  storage  during  a  dry  season  will 
have  so  increased  as  to  exhaust  it  in  about  175  days. 

The  consumption  of  water  cannot  safely  exceed  290,000,000 
gallons  per  day  when  the  flow  of  the  Croton  River  is  less  than 
the  daily  consumption ;  otherwise  the  stored  water  may  be  ex- 
hausted before  the  end  of  a  drought,  and  the  City  thus  be  left 
almost  or  entirely  without  water. 


Prefatory  sj 

It  is  certain  that  consumption  must  be  curtailed  in  an  in- 
creasing degree  during  the  dry  season  of  the  next  few  years,  as 
a  precaution  against  the  complete  exhaustion  of  the  water  sup- 
ply in  case  of  protracted  drought.  A  restricted  allowance  of 
water  at  times,  with  much  inconvenience  and  even  privation,  is 
almost  inevitable.     The  alternative  is  a  probable  water  famine. 

It  is  therefore  of  the  first  importance  that  the  available  sup- 
ply be  conserved  by  the  elimination  of  waste  and  leakage,  so 
far  as  that  elimination  is  practicable.  It  has  been  widely  assumed 
that  extreme  waste  is  responsible  for  the  large  per  capita  con- 
sumption of  water  in  this  City.  The  actual  extent  of  the  waste 
is  undetermined,  the  data  being  incomplete  and  not  sufficient  to 
sustain  the  contention,  frequently  made,  that  the  major  portion 
of  all  the  water  coming  into  the  City  is  lost  by  leakage.  The 
statements  which  assert  such  extreme  leakage  are  not  based 
upon  ascertained  facts,  are  largely  conjectural,  and  are  not 
worthy  of  serious  consideration  in  an  examination  of  this  subject. 

In  every  city  having  a  public  water  supply,  the  element  of 
waste  makes  up  part  of  the  aggregate  consumption.  The  causes 
that  produce  this  waste  are  of  a  like  nature  everywhere.  In 
the  absence  of  preventive  measures  they  will  be  fairly  constant 
in  their  operation,  and  they  will  everywhere  produce  like  effects. 
In  the  absence  of  definite  proof  to  the  contrary,  it  may  fairly 
be  assumed  that  wastage  in  New  York  is  normal — that  is,  that 
it  proceeds  from  the  causes  operative  in  all  large  cities,  and  is 
substantially  equal  in  degree  to  that  which  arises  elsewhere 
from  similar  conditions.  Leaky  plumbing  exists  everywhere; 
there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  more  general  in  New 
York  than  in  other  cities.  Defective  mains  and  service  pipes 
abound  in  all  cities;  and  it  is  a  violent  assumption  that  they  arc 
more  general  in  New  York  than  elsewhere. 

The  assumption  that  waste-prevention  will  accomplish  more 
in  New  York  than  it  has  accomplished  elsewhere  may  there- 
fore be  dismissed.  The  measure  of  the  benefit  which  New  York 
may  derive  from  controlling  the  wastage  of  water  may  be  ap- 
proximated by  a  study  of  the  results  which  have  been  reached 
in  other  cities. 

The   most  direct  and   practicable  means   of   reducing   waste 


Report  of  Committee  on   Water  Supply. 

has  been  proved  to  be  the  placing  of  meters  upon  all  service 
pipes,  so  that  all  consumers  shall  pay  in  proportion  to  the  quan- 
tity of  water  used.  This  proposition  involves  the  outlay  of  sev- 
eral million  dollars,  either  by  the  public  treasury,  or  by  private 
property  owners.  If  the  burden  is  to  be  placed  upon  the  latter, 
general  and  probably  successful  opposition  may  be  expected. 
If  it  is  to  be  borne  by  the  public  treasury,  it  is  desirable  to  com- 
pute the  cost  and  the  probable  saving  to  be  effected,  that  the  net 
financial  result  may  be  shown. 

In  order  that  this  whole  subject  might  be  fully  and  clearly 
presented  for  public  consideration,  your  Committee  retained 
James  H.  Fuertes.  Esq.,  C.  E.,  to  examine  and  report  upon  the 
probable  extent  of  water  waste  in  this  City,  practicable  methods 
for  controlling  and  reducing  it,  waste-reduction  in  other  cities, 
the  cost  of  general  metering,  and  the  financial  saving  resulting 
from  utilizing  the  water  now  wasted. 

Mr.  Fuertes's  report  is  printed  herewith  in  full.  His  es- 
sential conclusions  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

The  readily  controllable  waste  in  Manhattan  and 
The  Bronx  is  about  15  per  cent,  of  the  supply,  and  is 
due  mainly  to  leaky  fixtures. 

It  is  essential  to  the  City's  safety,  pending  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Catskill  project,  that  the  waste  be 
stopped,  and  that  the  water  now  wasted  be  utilized. 

Complete  control  of  the  present  losses  can  only  be 
had  by  universal  metering. 

Metering  of  all  domestic  consumers  will  postpone 
for  from  VZ  to  15  years  the  necessity  of  building  the 
second  250,000,000  gallon  installment  of  the  new  addi- 
tional supply,  with  a  net  saving  over  the  cost  of  meter- 
ing, in  interest  and  other  charges,  of  about  $2,000,000 
a  year  during  that  period — a  total  saving  of  from  $24,- 
000,000  to  $30,000,000. 

Considerable  prejudice  against  general  and  compulsory 
metering  of  residences  exists  in  the  minds  of  a  large  part  of  the 


Prefatory 

public.  This  is  due  to  a  misapprehension  of  the  results  which 
follow  the  domestic  use  of  meters.  It  is  believed  by  many  that 
their  use  will  unduly  restrict  the  reasonable  and  desirable  con- 
sumption of  water  on  the  one  hand,  and  impose  an  undue  burden 
of  expense  upon  property  owners,  on  the  other.  Mr.  Fuertes's 
report  shows  these  beliefs  to  be  groundless.  Nevertheless,  a  very 
large  number  of  property  owners  in  this  City,  especially  in  the 
tenement  districts,  will  probably  oppose  the  introduction  of 
meters  through  prejudice  or  misconception,  unless,  by  the  actual 
results  of  metering  experimentally  on  a  large  scale,  it  can  be 
shown  that  the  prejudice  against  metering  is  not  justified. 

In  case  meters  are  applied  to  all  residences,  the  existing 
scale  of  charges  should  be  so  readjusted  as  to  permit  to  every 
person  an  amply  sufficient  quantity  of  water  at  an  annual  charge 
that  shall  not  exceed  the  present  frontage  rate,  so  that  house- 
holders may  be  assured  that  the  cost  of  water  service  will  not, 
by  the  adoption  of  meter  charges,  be  arbitrarily  or  unduly  in- 
creased above  the  present  annual  cost.  No  data  now  available 
show  with  any  degree  of  accuracy  the  normal  residence  con- 
sumption of  water  in  this  City,  and  until  such  normal  consump- 
tion be  established  experimentally,  it  will  be  impracticable  to 
determine  what  is  a  reasonable  allowance  per  diem  for  each 
person,  and  upon  what  basis  the  meter  charges  should  be  ad- 
justed. It  is,  moreover,  desirable  that  experiments  on  a  large 
scale  be  made  for  the  purpose  of  learning  the  extent  to  which 
metering  will  result  in  stoppage  of  waste  due  to  defective 
plumbing. 

The  subject  cannot  intelligently  be  treated  as  a  whole  until 
these  data  have  been  derived  from  experience.  In  order  that 
the  data  might  properly  be  gathered,  your  Committee  caused  to 
be  introduced  into  the  legislature,  through  Hon.  Mervin  C.  Stan- 
ley, the  following  Bill,  having  first  submitted  it  for  considera- 
tion to  Commissioner  Ellison,  who  expressed  his  general  ap- 
proval of  the  purposes  thereof.  The  Bill  having  been  passed 
by  the  Legislature,  approved  by  the  Mayor  and  signed  by  the 
Governor,  has  become  law,  and  all  that  is  necessary  to  give  effect 
to  its  purposes  is  a  sufficient  appropriation  by  the  Board  of 
Estimate  and  Apportionment: 


Report  of  Committee  on  Water  Supply. 

"AN  ACT 

"TO   PROVIDE  FOR   OBTAINING  INFORMATION  AS   TO   THE 

''CONSUMPTION  AND  WASTE  OF  WATER  IN  THE 

"CITY  OF  NEW  YORK. 

"The  People  of  the  State  of  New  York,  represented  in  Senate  and 
Assembly,  do  enact  as  follows: 

"Section  1.  The  commissioner  of  water  supply,  gas  and  electricit}' 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  when  authorized  by  the  board  of  estimate  and 
apportionment,  shall  proceed  immediately  and  with  all  reasonable  speed 
to  designate  certain  districts  or  areas  in  the  city  of  New  York,  which  in 
his  judgment  will  furnish  the  best  opportunities  for  acquiring  complete 
and  reliable  information  as  to  the  consumption  and  waste  of  water. 

"Section  2.  To  every  service  pipe  not  already  so  equipped,  which  fur- 
nishes water  in  a  district  designated  as  provided  in  the  foregoing  section, 
the  said  commissioner,  when  authorized  thereto  by  the  board  of  estimate 
and  apportionment,  shall  attach  without  expense  to  the  consumer,  a  water 
meter.  And  the  said  commissioner,  his  agents,  inspectors  and  such  other 
persons  as  he  may  direct,  are  hereby  authorized  to  enter  upon  any  premises 
for  the  purpose  of  installing  meters,  making  examinations,  or  doing  any 
other  acts  required  to  accomplish  the  purpose  of  this  enactment. 

Section  3.  The  commissioner  of  water  supply,  gas  and  electricity  shall 
cause  inspections  and  readings  to  be  made  of  the  meters  thus  installed,  at 
least  once  in  each  month  and  as  much  oftener  as  in  his  discretion  may 
seem  desirable ;  and  he  shall  keep,  in  the  office  of  the  department  of  water 
supply,  gas  and  electricity,  a  complete  and  accurate  record  of  such  read- 
ings, which  shall  be  accessible  to  the  public. 

"Section  4.  The  said  commissioner  shall  cause  to  be  made  analyses 
and  digests  of  the  record  aforesaid  and  shall  report  thereon  to  the  board 
of  estimate  and  apportionment,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  January,  nine- 
teen hundred  and  seven,  with  his  recommendations  as  to  the  advisability 
of  metering  all  water  service  pipes  in  the  city  and  as  to  the  rates  which 
should  be  charged  to  all  classes  of  consumers  of  water. 

"Section  5.  The  meters  thus  installed,  as  in  this  act  provided,  shall 
be  and  remain  the  property  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  shall  at  all  times 
be  under  the  supervision  and  control  of  the  commissioner  of  water  supply.. 
gas  and  electricity. 

"Section  6.  The  expense  of  carrying  into  effect  the  provisions  and 
intent  of  this  act  shall  be  borne  and  paid  by  the  city  of  New  York  and  to 
provide  the  means  therefor,  the  comptroller  of  said  city  shall,  when  author- 
ized by  the  board  of  estimate  and  apportionment  and  without  the  concur- 
rence or  approval  of  any  other  board  or  public  body,  prepare  and  issue 
corporate  stock  and  out  of  the  amount  of  money  thus  raised  the  said 
comptroller  shall,  on  the  certificate  of  the  commissioner  of  water  supply, 
gas  and  electricity,  make  all  payments  required  to  accomplish  the  purpose 
of  this  act. 

"Section  7.    This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately." 

7 


Prefatory 

A  digest  of  existing  laws  relating  to  metering  has  been  pre- 
pared for  your  Committee  by  Alfred  L.  Marilley,  Esq.,  and  is 
appended  hereto  as  a  separate  report. 

An  examination  of  these  laws  will  show  that  prior  to  the 
passage  of  the  Stanley  Act,  quoted  above,  the  Commissioner  of 
Water  Supply  was  without  power  to  make  experimental  appli- 
cation of  meters  upon  a  large  scale,  nor  had  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men power  to  authorize  such  experimental  application.  It  was 
therefore  necessary  to  provide  for  the  placing  of  experimental 
meters  at  the  public  expense,  and  to  empower  the  Commissioner 
of  Water  Supply  to  enter  private  premises  for  the  purpose  of 
placing  such  experimental  meters,  no  such  power  previously  ex- 
isting. The  Stanley  Act  confers  these  necessary  powers,  and 
thereby  enables  the  Commissioner  to  make  actual  tests  of  w^ater 
consumption  by  all  classes  upon  a  sufficiently  large  scale  to 
supply  the  data  necessary  for  determining  the  expediency  of 
general  metering,  and  for  the  contemplated  equitable  readjust- 
ment of  rates. 

Mr.  Fuertes's  examination  has  taken  no  cognizance  of  the 
probable  increase  in  water  revenues  which  will  result  from  gen- 
eral metering.  It  has  been  shown  by  experience  that  many  in- 
dividual premises  in  the  classes  now  subject  under  the  law  to 
meter  measurements,  have  eluded  the  payment  of  meter  charges, 
and  have  consumed  excessive  quantities  of  water  without  making 
due  payment  therefor.  It  is  reasonably  certain  that  general 
metering  will  largely  increase  the  revenues  from  business  and 
manufacturing  concerns  who  now  use  water  without  proper 
payment.  This  probable  result  should  be  considered  as  one  of 
the  reasons  for  general  metering,  and  it  would  probably  add 
largely  to  the  financial  advantage  outlined  by  Mr.  Fuertes,  who 
has  considered  only  the  financial  saving  to  the  City  to  be  effected 
by  making  more  distant  the  time  when  a  large  investment  would 
be  required   for  additional   water  supply. 

In  addition  to  the  technical  and  legal  reports  by  Mr.  Fuertes 
and  Mr.  Marilley,  it  has  seemed  to  your  Committee  desirable 
to  append  to  this  report  a  concise  summary  of  the  general  con- 
ditions relating  to  the  water  supply  of  this  city.  Such  a  sum- 
mary has  been  prepared,  at  the  request  of  the  Committee,  by  J. 


Report  of  Committee  on   Water  Supply. 

Hampden  Dougherty,  Esq.,  former  Commissioner  of  Water  Sup- 
ply, Gas  and  Electricity,  and  is  appended  hereto. 

It  is  of  the  first  importance  that  the  people  of  this  City 
apprehend  clearly  the  great  danger  to  which  the  population'  is 
subjected  by  reason  of  a  possible,  and  even  probable,  water 
famine  pending  the  completion  of  the  new  supply ;  and  that  such 
danger  is  only  to  be  averted  by  repressive  measures  which,  by 
reducing  waste  and  leakage,  shall  utilize  the  present  supply  to 
its  fullest  capacity. 

In  the  opinion  of  your  Committee  general  metering  is  the 
only  practicable  safeguard,  and  it  is  this  Committee's  purpose, 
therefore,  to  urge  upon  the  public  authorities  that  recourse  be 
had  to  that  measure  as  soon  as  possible.  The  Stanley  Act  will 
afford  means  for  gathering  all  necessary  data,  and  for  determin- 
ing the  proper  readjustment  of  the  charges.  It  is  hoped  and 
believed  that  the  information  gathered  under  the  Stanley  Act 
will  be  so  convincing  to  the  people,  and  to  the  public  authorities, 
as  to  enable  the  passage  of  an  act  by  the  next  Legislature  that 
shall  permit  the  prompt  adoption  of  general  metering  upon  a 
basis  that  will  meet  with  general  public  approval. 

It  is  the  intent  of  your  Committee  to  pursue  this  subject 
diligently,  and  to  keep  closely  in  touch  with  the  work  that  may 
be  done  by  the  Water  Department  under  the  Stanley  Act. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

Committee  on  Water  Supply^ 
The  Merchants'  Association  of  New  York, 
By  Henry  R.  Towne,  Chairman. 

New  York,  June  18,  1906. 


WASTE  OF  WATER  IN  NEW  YORK 

AND    ITS    REDUCTION    BY 

METERS  AND  INSPECTION 


BY 


JAMES  H.  FUERTES,  C.  E. 


PAGE 

Waste  of  Water  in  New  York  and  Its  Reduction  by 

Meters  and  Inspection 13 

Appendix  A:     Unaccounted-For  Water 107 

Appendix  B  :     Waste  of  Metered  Water 113 

Appendix  C:     Leakage  from  Street  Mains.     ....  117 

Appendix  D:     Waste-Reduction  in  American  and 

German  Cities 127 

Appendix  E:     List  of  References 225 


WASTE    OF    WATER    IN    NEW   YORK 

AND  ITS  REDUCTION  BY  METERS 

AND     INSPECTION. 

New  York,  May  9,  1906. 
Mr.  Henry  R.  Towne, 

Chairman  Committee  on  Water  Supply, 

The  Merchants'  Association  of  New  York. 

Sir: 

IN  accordance  with  your  request  I  have  the  honor  to  present  a 
statement  of  the  results  of  an  investigation  conducted  under 
the  general  direction  of  your  Committee  for  the  purpose  of  ascer- 
taining, as  nearly  as  possible : 

1. — The  amount  of  water  lost  by  leakage  and  wastage 
from  Nev/  York's  Water  Supply. 

2. — The  proportion  of  water  so  lost  that  could  be 
quickly  and  efifectively  saved. 

3. — The  bearing  which  the  saving  of  this  lost  water 
would  have  on  the  advisability  of  deferring  the  construc- 
tion of  the  works  for  the  proposed  new  Water  Supply 
from  the  Catskill  Mountains. 


SUMMARY  OF  CONCLUSIONS. 

I<RIEFLY  stated,  the   results  of  this   investigation,  which  has 
been  carried  as  far  as  the  time  available  would  permit,  may 
be  summed  up  as  follows : 

In  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  the  amount  of  leakage  and  wastage 
effectively  and  quickly  controllable  probably  did  not  average 
for  the  ten  years  prior  to  1904  more  than  about  15  per  cent 
of  the  supply,  and  was  largely  confined  to  the  fixtures  and 
services  of  unmetered  consumers.  (See  Parts  I,  II,  III,  IV, 
V,  and  Appendices  A,  B,  and  C.) 

13 


IVaste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

The  leakage  from  the  street  mains  is  relatively  small  in  amount 
and  such  as  exists  could  not  be  stopped  short  of  many  years 
of  costly  work.  Its  complete  stoppage,  even  if  possible, 
would  be  of  very  little  benefit  as  compared  with  the  control 
of  the  leakage  and  wastage  taking  place  from  the  fixtures  on 
the  premises  of  unmetered  consumers.     (See  Appendix  C.) 

Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  are  at  the  present  time  not  only  using 
more  water  daily  than  can  be  safely  depended  upon  from  the 
Croton  and  Bronx  water-sheds,  with  the  present  available 
storage,  but  are  actually  using  within  about  17  per  cent  of 
the  greatest  amount  that  could  be  continuously  obtained  if 
the  reservoirs  were  large  enough  to  hold  back  for  use  the 
entire  stream  flow,  allowing  no  water  to  waste  over  the  dams 
during  pretty  nearly  a  generation.  (With  meteorological 
conditions  identical  with  those  which  have  prevailed  since 
1879.)     (See  Part  VI.) 

Only  17  per  cent  more  water  could  be  continuously  had  from  the 
Croton  water-shed,  no  matter  how  much  storage  were  pro- 
vided, for  the  reason  that  the  City  is  now  using  within  17  per 
cent  of  the  average  flow  of  the  Croton  River.  To  get  this 
last  17  per  cent  the  storage  would  have  to  be  about  two  and 
one-third  times  as  great  as  the  combined  capacities  of  all  the 
existing  reservoirs,  lakes  and  ponds  now  on  the  water-shed. 
Such  storage  can  not  be  had ;  therefore  New  York  must  go 
to  other  water-sheds  for  more  water.     (See  Part  VII.) 

If  the  storage  in  the  Croton  water-shed  is  increased  materially 
beyond  the  present  amount  it  will  be  at  the  risk  of  spoiling 
the  water.     (See  Part  VII.) 

Dunng  recent  years  the  relative  amount  of  rain  falling  in  the 
different  seasons  has  been  favorable  to  large  summer  stream 
flows  in  the  Croton  water-shed.  If  in  any  year  since  1901 
the  same  total  amount  of  rain  had  been  distributed  differ- 
ently, that  is:  if  more  had  fallen  in  the  Summer  and  less 
in  the  Spring,  under  conditions  no  less  extreme  than  have 
frequently  prevailed  in  the  past,  the  Water  Departincnt  would 
have  been  compelled  to  partially  shut  oflF  the  supply  for  sev- 
eral months  at  a  time  to  avoid  emptying  the  storage  reser- 


Summary  of  Conclusions. 

voirs.  Cutting  off  a  part  of  the  supply  would  reduce  the 
pressures  all  over  the  City  with  the  added  risks  of  general 
conflagrations  (due  to  the  inability,  through  lack  of  water,  to 
control  small  fires).     (See  Parts  VI  and  VII.) 

The  flow  of  the  Croton  River  has  been  above  the  average  for 
several  years.     It  must  soon,  therefore,  fall  below. 

It  requires  no  exaggeration  to  portray  the  dangers  of  the  situa- 
tion when  it  is  realized  that  the  amount  of  water  the  City 
is  using  from  the  Croton  water-shed  is  within  17  per  cent 
of  the  average  flow  of  the  Croton  River  and  that  the  flow  of 
this  river,  as  known  by  its  past  records,  may  possibly  fall  for 
an  entire  year  to  an  amount  40  per  cent  below  the  average. 
(See  Part  VII.) 

With  the  greatest  amount  of  waste  and  leak  reduction  possible  of 
practical  accomplishment  during  the  coming  years,  and  with 
the  construction  of  the  proposed  Cross  River  reservoir  and 
all  other  emergency  reservoirs  that  can  be  built  in  the  Croton 
water-shed,  the  City  will  not  be  out  of  danger  of  a  water- 
famine  until  the  new  supply  is  made  available.  The  construc- 
tion of  the  first  installment  of  the  new  works  should  there- 
fore be  started  immediately  and  should  be  pushed  to  comple- 
tion as  rapidly  as  possible.     (See  Part  VII.) 

In  order  to  carry  the  City  through  the  intervening  years  that  must 
elapse  before  the  new  supply  can  be  built,  with  a  reasonable 
assurance  of  averting  the  probable  certainty  of  a  short  sup- 
ply (if  the  lessons  to  be  learned  from  the  record  of  the  flow 
of  the  Croton  River  for  the  past  38  years  can  be  depended 
on  as  an  indication  of  future  conditions),  comprehensive 
steps  to  stop  leakage  and  wastage  must  be  taken  immediately 
and  must  be  maintained  without  relaxation.  (See  Parts  I, 
VII,  VIII,  and  IX.) 

Leakage  and  wastage  can  be  controlled  by  house  to  house  inspec- 
tions, or  by  inspections. in  conjunction  with  partial  metering, 
or  by  universal  metering. 

The  control  of  leakage  and  wastage  by  house  to  house  inspections 
will  be  incomplete,  as,  in  order  to  have  been  detected,  leaks 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

must  have  already  existed.     Relatively  complete  control  of 
these  losses  can  only  be  had  by  universal  metering. 

The  metering  of  all  domestic  consumers  will  prove  a  very  profit- 
able investment  in  New  York  City  by  postponing  for  from 
12  to  15  years  the  necessity  of  building  the  second  250,000,000 
gallon  installment  of  the  new  additional  supply,  with  a  net 
saving  over  the  cost  of  metering  of  about  $2,000,000  per  year 
for  that  period.     (See  Part  IX.) 

As  it  is  imperative  that  as  great  a  reduction  as  possible  be  im- 
mediately secured  in  leakage  and  wastage,  the  conditions  demand  : 

First. — The  organization  and  placing  in  effect  at  once  of  a  com- 
prehensive system  of  house-to-house  inspections,  coupled 
with  examinations  of  the  flows  in  the  street  mains  (for  the 
purpose  of  locating  quickly  the  most  serious  losses)  to  carry 
the  City  through  until  the  question  of  final  control  of  wastage 
can  be  settled. 

Second. — There  must  be  secured  to  the  City  the  right,  which  it 
does  not  now  possess,  to  place  meters  on  the  services  of 
domestic  consumers.     (See  Parts  I,  VII,  VIII,  and  IX.) 

A  brief  digest  of  the  data  upon  which  the  foregoing  state- 
ments are  based  will  be  found  in  the  following  pages. 


16 


PART  L 

METHODS  FOR   CONTROLLING   LOSS   OF   WATER. 

IT  is  my  opinion  that  the  term  wastage  as  appUed  to  the  various 
losses  of  water  in  a  city's  supply  has  been  extremely  unfor- 
tunate, implying  more  than  it  really  should.  The  proportion  of 
water  actually  wasted,  in  the  ordinarily  accepted  meaning  of  the 
word,  is  relatively  small.  Most  of  the  lost  water  is  leakage,  not 
wastage ;  and  a  campaign,  to  prevent  this  loss  of  water,  which  is 
a  loss  of  wealth,  should  be  directed  against  leakage.  I  believe 
that  the  number  of  persons  who  deliberately  waste  any  significant 
amount  of  water  in  New  York  is  probably  no  greater  than  the 
number  who  steal  it  through  illicit  connections.  On  the  other 
hand  the  number  who  allow  it  to  leak  continually  from  defective 
fixtures  on  their  premises  is  probably  equal  to  the  number  of  un- 
metered  users.  This  is  not  maliciousness,  but  heedlessness,  care- 
lessness, shiftlessness,  for  which,  not  the  people,  but  the  system 
under  which  the  water  is  distributed  and  sold  is  responsible. 

Owing  to  the  erroneous  but  very  general  impression  that 
waste  reduction  implies  a  restriction  in  the  use  of  water,  it  has 
become  extremely  difficult  in  large  cities  to  inaugurate  such  re- 
forms as  would  quickly  lead  to  material  financial  benefits  not  only 
to  the  city  as  a  whole  but  to  the  individual  owners  of  properties, 
without  in  any  way  depriving  a  single  citizen  of  the  use  of  as 
much  water  as  he  can  use,  or  has  been  accustomed  to  using. 

In  a  city  the  population  is  broadly  divisible  into  two  general 
classes :  owners  and  tenants,  the  tenants  being  in  number  largely 
in  excess  of  the  owners.  In  New  York  the  water  taxes  fall 
directly  upon  the  owners,  the  tenants,  except  in  relatively  small 
numbers,  having  no  direct  interest  in  the  question  of  the  suppres- 
sion of  leakage,  as  the  water  rates  are  supposedly  covered  by  the 
rent.  The  owners  of  properties  rented  to  tenants  are  therefore 
the  ones  who  control  the  situation  for  the  reason  that  by  the  exer- 
tion of  political  pressure,  and  by  threats  of  increased  rents,  it  is 

17 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

entirely  possible  for  this  relatively  small  body  of  citizens  to  defeat 
action  looking  towards  a  material  betterment  of  conditions.  The 
problem,  therefore,  becomes  one  of  convincing  the  owners  that  it 
is  to  their  interest  to  assist  in  stopping  the  leakage  which  is  add- 
ing materially  to  their  taxes  year  by  year. 

To  accomplish  this  purpose  it  is  necessary  to  show : 

First. — That  leakage  can  be  stopped  quickly ;  and  that  when  once 
stopped  it  can  be  permanently  controlled. 

Second. — That  owners  of  rented  properties  run  no  risk  of  being 
robbed  by  wasteful  tenants  when  the  water  is  sold  by  meas- 
ure instead  of  being  supplied  at  frontage  or  assessment  rates. 

Third. — That  it  is  to  the  financial  advantage  of  the  owner  to  keep 
the  plumbing  in  his  buildings  properly  repaired  and  pay  for 
the  water  used  rather  than  to  neglect  to  keep  his  property  up 
and  have  it  saddled  with  increased  taxation  to  cover  the  value 
of  the  significant  percentage  of  the  city's  water  now  running 
continuously  into  the  sewers. 

If  there  were  only  a  few  shiftless  landlords  in  the  city  their 
carelessness  would  not  greatly  affect  the  total  supply,  but  unfor- 
tunately each  owner  labors  under  the  delusion  that  the  value  of 
the  water  lost  on  his  premises  is  so  small  that  when  charged  to 
all  the  other  property  in  the  city,  as  it  must  be,  his  individual 
contribution  to  cover  the  wastage  will  be  insignificant  in  compari- 
son with  the  cost  of  stopping  the  leaks.  With  every  other  owner 
pursuing  the  same  policy,  however,  each  individual  is  helping  to 
pay  for  the  shiftlessness  not  only  of  himself  but  of  every  one  else, 
with  the  net  result  that  the  water  taxes  must  be  made  large 
enough  to  cover  the  value  of  the  water  thus  allowed  to  leak  away. 

House-to-house  inspections  coupled  with  the  testing  of  mains 
to  locate  leakage  and  wastage,  will,  if  repeated  at  least  twice  a 
year,  control  a  variable  percentage,  probably  about  three-fourths, 
of  the  total  controllable  loss.  In  order  to  be  of  any  value  this 
plan  would  have  to  be  maintained  in  operation  perpetually;  its 
discontinuance  would  be  immediately  followed  by  the  resumption 
of  leakage  and  wastage,  no  permanent  benefits  would  have  been 
obtained  and  the  funds  appropriated  would  have  been  expended 
on  a  temporary  expedient. 

18 


Part  I:    Methods  of  Controlling  Loss. 

It  has  been  the  universal  experience  of  every  city  in  the  United 
States  that  wastage  and  leakage  can  not  be  satisfactorily  con- 
trolled without  the  use  of  water  meters  on  practically  every  serv- 
ice, domestic,  manufacturing,  commercial,  and  public.  Whether 
the  city  be  put  entirely  on  a  meter  basis,  or  whether  the  meters 
be  used  merely  to  locate  wastage  and  leakage,  these  losses  being 
stopped  by  the  infliction  of  penalties  for  second  offenses,  I  believe 
to  be  a  subject  for  further  investigation  and  discussion,  so  far  as 
controlling  wastage  is  concerned.  But  there  is  no  doubt  but  that 
in  American  cities,  where  administrations  change  frequently  and 
where  appropriations  must  be  asked  of  councilmanic  committees 
the  meter  must  be  used  as  an  adjunct  in  waste  prevention  if  an 
adequate  return  is  desired  for  the  investment. 

Further,  the  metering  of  a  relatively  small  proportion  of  the  do- 
mestic consumers  may  be  of  no  avail  unless  these  meters  be  placed 
on  wasteful  consumers  who  have  been  located  by  inspections,  in 
which  case  probably  the  greater  part  of  the  waste  and  leakage 
can  be  controlled  with  the  metering  of  about  15  per  cent  of  the 
consumers ;  but  even  thereafter  the  inspections  will  have  to  be 
kept  up  persistently  and  be  followed  by  the  installation  of  other 
meters,  until  finally,  before  the  situation  is  well  in  hand,  practi- 
cally all  the  services  will  have  been  metered. 

When  that  time  arrives,  and  not  until  then,  will  the  wastage 
and  leakage  question  cease  to  be  one  of  great  moment  in  this  city. 

The  records  of  every  city  in  the  world  where  meters  have  been 
used  in  sufficient  extent  show  that  the  amount  of  unaccounted  for 
water  can  be  brought  down  to  and  maintained  at  a  reasonable 
limit;  and  these  records  further  afford  convincing  proof  of  the 
proposition  that  after  meters  have  been  placed  on  every  service 
wastage  will  be  kept  permanently  under  control. 

In  every  municipal  Water  Supply  System  the  question  of  com- 
batting wastage  and  leakage  comes  up  sooner  or  later  for  settle- 
ment. Some  cities  have  solved  the  problem  successfully ;  others 
have  spent  large  amounts,  thereby  securing  temporary  benefits 
only  to  find  some  years  later  that  conditions  were  as  bad  as  ever. 
In  every  city  where  satisfactory  results  have  been  obtained  and 
permanently  secured  the  campaigns  have  been  conducted  against 
the  wastage  in  the  premises  of  all  consumers,  domestic,  manufac- 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

turing  and  public.  In  New  York  the  manufacturing  consumption 
being  now  metered  can  not  be  reduced  to  much  lower  figures  than 
at  present  obtain. 

The  discovery  of  illicit  water  takings,  and  testing  of  meters, 
however,  will  tend  to  increase  the  revenues  of  the  Water  Depart- 
ment and  may  lead  to  the  discontinuance  of  some  of  the  illicit 
water  takings  or  the  suppression  of  wastage  therefrom.  The 
amount  of  wastage  from  such  connections  can  not  be  known  nor 
even  guessed  at  from  any  data  now  available,  but  it  seems  certain 
that  its  amount  must  be  insignificant  in  comparison  with  the  wast- 
age from  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  leaky  faucets,  ball  cocks 
and  other  fixtures  to  be  found  in  the  buildings,  public  and  private, 
throughout  the  entire  city. 

The  most  reliable  guide  by  which  to  judge  of  the  effectiveness 
and  permanency  of  methods  for  reducing  wastage  is  the  actual 
experience  of  other  cities  in  which  this  problem  has  been  attacked ; 
and  when  the  various  methods  tried  have  been  studied  in  the  light 
of  local  conditions  the  reasons  for  failures  or  successes  become 
clearly  apparent.  Fortunately,  a  great  deal  of  such  work  has  been 
done  both  in  American  and  foreign  cities  and  there  are  ample  facts 
to  be  had  from  which  a  reliable  forecast  may  be  made  of  what 
may  be  expected  as  the  result  of  following  certain  policies. 

Generally  speaking  there  are  but  two  methods  of  stopping 
wastage :  one  is  to  maintain  a  bureau  for  systematic  house-to- 
house  inspections,  frequently  repeating  the  inspections  each  year, 
and  inflicting  penalties  on  those  who  permit  leakage  from  fixtures 
on  their  premises,  coupling  with  this  systematic  examinations  of 
the  flow  in  the  street  mains  to  locate  leakage  from  underground 
service  pipes,  which  leakage  would  not  otherwise  be  detected.  The 
second  method  is  to  sell  the  water  only  by  measurement  instead 
of  supplying  it  at  frontage  or  assessment  rates. 

The  first  system  may  be  productive  of  excellent  results  for  so 
long  a  time  as  the  method  is  vigorously  followed  up.  As  soon 
as  it  is  relaxed  matters  quickly  become  as  bad  as  before  and  unless 
temporary  results  only  are  desired  the  expense  incurred  will 
have  been,  in  effect,  a  wastage  of  the  public  funds. 

The  second  method  wherever  it  has  been  employed  has  proved 

20 


Part  I:    Methods  of  Controlling  Loss. 

a  satisfactory  means  of  holding  leakage  down  to  the  lowest  prac- 
ticable amounts. 

The  various  cities  which  have  undertaken  the  control  of  leak- 
age and  wastage  may  for  a  convenient  discussion  of  the  results 
secured  be  divided  into  four  general  classes : 

A. — Cities  selling  water  at  assessment  or  frontage  rates  and  in 
which  waste  reductions  have  been  accomplished  by  house-to- 
house  inspections,  metering  wasteful  consumers,  or  combina- 
tions of  these  methods,  and  in  which,  when  these  methods 
have  been  relaxed,  the  good  results  obtained  have  been  sub- 
sequently lost. 

B. — Cities  in  which  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  services  are 
metered,  efifecting  some  improvement,  but  in  which  wastage 
and  leakage  are  not  yet  entirely  under  control. 

C. — Cities  in  which  waste  reduction  has  been  successful  and  in 
which  the  good  results  secured  have  been  permanently  main- 
tained. 

D. — Cities  in  which  water  has  been  sold  by  measure  for  a  good 
many  years  and  in  which  wastage  and  leakage  have  been  and 
are  now  under  as  perfect  control  as  practicable  of  attainment. 

For  the  purpose  of  illustrating  the  effect  of  different  methods 
of  handling  this  question  it  has  seemed  advisable  to  describe  briefly 
the  actual  experiences  of  a  few  cities  representative  of  each  of  the 
above  classes.  These  descriptions  have  been  prepared  from  data 
compiled  from  the  Annual  Reports  of  the  Water  Boards  of  the 
various  cities,  and  from  correspondence  with  water  works  officials. 

It  has  been  stated  that  there  are  really  but  two  practicable 
methods  of  controlling  wastage.  This  I  believe  to  be  true.  Tem- 
porary reduction  of  the  pressure  in  the  mains  is  sometimes  re- 
sorted to  as  expedient  to  tide  over  brief  periods  of  shortage.  New 
York  has  already  been  through  several  experiences  of  this  sort. 

In  connection  with  waste  reduction  proper  plumbing  regula- 
tions are  a  necessity,  particularly  when  inspections  are  depended 
upon  to  detect  wastage.  In  Manchester  and  several  of  the  larger 
English  cities  it  has  been  for  many  years  the  custom  for  the  city 
to  supervise  the  plumbing  very  closely,  testing  every  fixture  be- 
fore it  is  allowed  to  be  used  and  stamping  it  with  an  official  seal 

21 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

if  satisfactory  in  make,  material  and  style,  and  properly  passing 
the  prescribed  tests.  In  one  small  English  town  where  the  plumb- 
ing had  become  so  hopelessly  bad  that  repairs  seemed  impossible 
the  water  department  practically  installed  new  and  satisfactory 
fixtures  in  every  house  before  attempting  to  control  leakage  and 
wastage. 

In  Great  Britain  water  meters  are  not  extensively  employed, 
nearly  all  the  water  used  for  domestic  purposes  being  paid  for 
on  the  basis  of  the  rental  value  of  the  property  occupied  by  the 
consumer  instead  of  being  based,  as  is  commonly  done  in  America, 
on  frontage  rates  with  additional  charges  for  the  extra  fixtures 
in  use ;  and  the  control  of  wastage  and  leakage  is  effected  by  fre- 
quent, thorough,  house-to-house  inspections  coupled  with  the  use 
of  only  approved  plumbing  fixtures.  In  these  cities,  however,  the 
municipal  organizations  are  very  different  from  those  in  our 
American  cities.  With  our  political  complications  arising  from 
frequent  changes  of  administration  it  has  always  been  impossible 
to  accomplish  lasting  reforms,  in  the  matter  of  waste  suppression, 
by  means  which  have  been  satisfactory  in  other  countries.  With 
constant  changing  of  the  heads  of  departments  and  of  the  mem- 
bers of  council,  and  committees  on  whom  reliance  must  be  placed 
for  appropriations,  reforms  inaugurated  by  one  administration 
may  be  discontinued  by  the  one  succeeding  and  probably  before 
any  substantial  benefits  may  have  been  secured.  This  is  the  con- 
densed history  of  waste  reduction  by  inspection  in  the  American 
cities  which  have  tried  it.  New  York  has  been  through  it  twice, 
the  successful  campaigns  having  been  conducted  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Allen  Campbell  from  187G  to  1880  and  his  successor, 
Hubert  O.  Thompson,  from  1880  to  1884,  and  General  John  New- 
ton from  1886  to  1889.  In  the  intervening  period  and  since  the 
time  of  General  Newton,  no  aggressive,  systematic  work  of  this 
nature  has  been  carried  on  and  the  use,  wastage  and  leakage  have 
steadily  increased  during  the  last  15  years  until  the  total  consump- 
tion of  water  per  person,  in  New  York,  is  now  nearly  double  what 
it  was  when  General  Newton's  term  of  ofiice  ended. 

A. — Cities  in  zvhich  waste  reduction  has  been  accomplished  by 
house-to-house  inspection,  metering  zvasteful  consumers,  or 
both,  and  in  which  these  methods  have  been  relaxed,  showing 
reduction  of  wastage  and  subsequent  return  of  previous  zvast- 
age. 


Part  I:    Methods  of  Controlling  Loss. 

AMONG  cities  where  extensive  work  in  waste  suppression  has 
been  done,  Boston,  Detroit,  Newark  and  St.  Louis,  all  af- 
ford useful  data.  Table  1  contains  a  condensed  summary  of  the 
statistics  of  these  cities.  It  will  be  observed  that  in  each  of  these 
the  average  daily  consumption  per  capita  has  been  materially  re- 
duced only  to  increase  again  in  subsequent  years.  The  reasons 
for  this  will  be  found  in  the  detailed  descriptions  of  the  methods 
used  and  the  results  obtained. 


TABLE  NO.  U 


City. 

Year 

Referred 

to. 

Average 
Daily  Con- 
sumption 
Per  Capita. 

Percentage 

of  Services 

Metered. 

Years 
Elapsed. 

Newark  . 

1898 
1901 
1904 

1889 
1897 
1905 

1883 
1884 
1892 
1896 
1900 

113.0 

94.0 

105.0 

210.0 
136.0 
181.0 

91.5 

68.0 

95.0 

101.0 

113.0 

10.0 
32.0 
42.0 

0.6 
18.0 
27.0 

ii's- 

3 

M 

3 

Detroit 

'  8 

" 

8 

Boston 

1 

« 

8 

- 

4 

« 

4 

The  most  extensive  work  ever  done  in  the  United  States  in 
waste  reduction  by  means  of  house-to-house  inspections,  combined 
with  examinations  of  the  flow  in  the  street  mains  to  locate  wast- 
age, was  undertaken  by  the  City  of  Boston  in  1880  and  prosecuted 
vigorously  for  several  years.  This  was  the  first  and  only  exten- 
sive application  in  the  United  States  of  the  system  devised  by 
Mr.  George  F.  Deacon,  City  Engineer  of  Liverpool,  and  subse- 
quently used  as  a  permanent  institution  in  that  city,  in  Glasgow, 
Manchester,  and  many  small  English  towns.  So  far  as  the  writer 
has  seen  any  references  thereto  it  has  never  been  permanently 
adopted  outside  of  England,  although  used  for  limited  times  in 
Frankfort-on-Main,  in  Yokohama,  and  for  a  short  time  in  the 
American  cities— Detroit,  Mich.,  1896;  Philadelphia,  1898;  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  1899. 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

As  a  result  of  the  very  thorough  work  done  in  Boston  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  Dexter  Brackett  the  consumption  was  cut 
down  from  91.5  gallons  per  capita  in  1883  to  68  gallons  in  1884. 
During  the  succeeding  years  the  thoroughness  with  which  the 
work  was  prosecuted  was  gradually  relaxed  until  in  1895  it  was 
temporarily  abandoned  owing  to  its  excessively  heavy  cost  and 
the  opening  of  the  new  Metropolitan  Water  Works  which  sup- 
plied an  abundance  of  water  and  made  the  control  of  wastage  less 
imperative. 

Since  1895  the  system  has  again  been  used  more  or  less  inter- 
mittently but  not  with  the  thoroughness  of  the  first  application 
under  Mr.  Brackett's  direction. 

The  cost  was  very  considerable,  and  although  recent  detailed 
figures  are  not  available,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  after  a  total  expen- 
diture of  more  than  one  million  dollars  on  waste  reduction  con- 
ditions in  this  regard  are  no  better  to-day  than  before  this  money 
was  expended.  This  is  not  to  be  in  any  way  interpreted  as  an 
implication  that  the  money  was  not  wisely  spent ;  but  merely  as  an 
illustration  that  this  system  of  waste  prevention,  which  is  burden- 
some and  disagreeable  to  householders,  as  well  as  expensive  and 
difficult  to  maintain  in  a  state  of  efficiency,  will  produce  no  per- 
manent, lasting  results  unless  pushed  vigorously  and  continuously 
by  a  large  corps  of  skilled  inspectors  under  the  direction  of  an 
energetic,  capable  director  backed  by  a  strong  support  from  the 
administration,  and  supplied  with  ample  funds. 

The  same  system  applied  to  New  York  and  Brooklyn  would 
cost  not  less  than  $1,000,000  per  year,  if  it  were  possible  to  use  it; 
and  it  would  cost  not  less  than  $1,000,000  to  install,  as  satisfactory 
results  could  not  be  obtained  without  putting  curb-cocks  on  every 
service  pipe,  installing  numberless  valves  in  the  mains  and  tracing 
out  obscure  connections  of  which  there  are  now  no  records. 

B. — Cities  in  zvhich  a  relatively  large  number  of  meters  are  in  use, 
but  in  which  wastage  is  not  yet  under  control. 

AS  a  general  thing  wastage  and  leakage  are  confined  at  any 
given  time  to  a  relatively  small  proportion  of  the  consump- 
tion.    If  it  were  possible  by  any  practicable  means  to  always  find 

21 


Part  I:    Methods  of  Controlling  Loss. 

these  few  careless  or  extravagant  users  wastage  could  be  con- 
trolled by  inspections  and  penalties.  Unfortunately  some  prem- 
ises where  no  leakage  or  wastage  takes  place  to-day  may  be 
among  the  worst  offenders  to-morrow.  Again,  in  some  cities  a 
large  amount  of  water  is  wasted  through  the  fixtures  in  public 
buildings,  through  fountains  and  watering  troughs,  or  needlessly 
wasted  by  extravagant  use  for  street  sprinkling,  sewer  flushing 
and  other  purposes  for  which  a  moderate  quantity  would  be  ample. 

The  general  proposition  that  metering  wasteful  consumers  will 
control  wastage,  or  that  metering  a  certain  percentage  of  the  serv- 
ices will  be  an  effective  check  on  wastage,  can  only  be  true  when 
the  meters  are  shifted  around  from  place  to  place  as  the  necessity 
therefor  is  made  apparent  by  inspections.  Furthermore,  this  ex- 
pedient can  never  be  more  than  partially  effective  for  the  reason 
that  wastage  must  already  have  taken  place  before  the  necessity 
for  stopping  it  will  have  become  apparent. 

TABLE  NO.  2. 

CITIES    HAVING    A    CONSIDERABLE    PROPORTION    OF    THE 

SERVICES  METERED,  BUT  IN  WHICH  WASTAGE  IS 

NOT  YET  UNDER  CONTROL. 


City 

Year 

Referred 

to. 

Average 
Daily  Con- 
sumption 
per  Capita, 

GaUons. 

Percent- 
age of 
Services 
Metered. 

Inhab- 
itants per 
Service. 

N  timber 

of 

Years 

Elapsed. 

Cleveland 

1891 
1901 
1904 

1899 
1904 

1893 
1899 
1903 
1904 

1898 
1904 

1898 
1904 

136** 
174** 
138** 

126 
129 

117** 
113** 
216** 
130** 

81 
102 

48** 
64** 

'6 
49 

30 
41 

17 
20 
36 
37 

44 

72 

38 

45 

7.5 
7.5 

5.8 
6.1 

5.3 
5.0 
5.1 
7.0 

7.9 
7.3 

6.7 
5.6 

io 

« 

3 

Richmond 

5 

Springfield 

6 

" 

4 

« 

1 

Syracuse* 

6 

Taunton 

6 

*  In  Syracuse  there  is  an  extraordinarily  large  niunber  of  watering  troughs  which 
alone  waste  about  twice  as  much  water  as  shovdd  be  required  for  all  public  purposes.  There 
is  a  large  amount  of  waste  from  fountains  and  public  buildings  also. 

♦♦  Per  consumer. 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

In  Cleveland ;  Richmond,  Va. ;  Springfield,  Mass. ;  Syracuse, 
N.  Y.,  and  Taunton,  Mass.,  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  water 
for  both  manufacturing  and  domestic  purposes  has  been  sold  by- 
meter  measurement  for  several  years,  and  as  it  can  not  be  said 
that  in  any  of  these  cities  wastage  is  under  satisfactory  control 
a  brief  statement  of  the  conditions,  methods  used  and  results  ob- 
tained will  prove  profitable. 

Table  2  contains  a  condensed  statement  of  the  results  in  each 
of  these  cities,  with  the  number  of  inhabitants  per  service,  for  the 
years  given,  as  an  indication  that  the  proportion  of  the  population 
actually  supplied  during  these  years  was  sufficiently  constant  in 
each  city  not  to  materially  affect  the  per  capita  rate  of  consump- 
tion on  which  the  comparisons  are  based. 

C — Cities  in  which  waste  reduction  methods  have  been  successful 
and  in  which  the  results  obtained  have  been  permanent. 


IN  all  the  fore-mentioned  cities,  in  which  waste  reduction  has 
been  practised  by  house-to-house  inspections,  partial  metering, 
combined  inspection  and  metering,  and  one  or  both  of  these  expe- 
dients combined  with  testing  of  the  flow  in  the  street  mains  for 
the  location  of  leaks  and  of  wasteful  consumers,  it  will  be  noted 
that  although  in  several  cases  the  reductions  in  wastage  have  been 
considerable  in  not  one  has  the  benefit  obtained  been  permanently 
secured. 

In  the  cities  listed  in  Table  3  not  only  has  success  been  at- 
tained in  the  suppression  of  undue  leakage  and  excessive  wastage, 
but  these  results  have  been  continued  from  year  to  year  with  nb 
tendency  to  a  return  of  former  conditions. 


Part  I:    Methods  of  Controlling  Loss. 


TABLE  NO.  3- 

CITIES    IN    WHICH    WASTE    REDUCTION    METHODS    HAVE 

BEEN  SUCCESSFUL,  AND  IN  WHICH  PERMANENT 

RESULTS   HAVE   BEEN    SECURED. 


Year 
Re- 
ferred 
to. 

t 

Average 
Daily  Con- 
sumption 
per  Capita. 
Gals. 

Reduction  of 
Wastage. 

Per- 
cent- 
age 
of  Ser- 
vices 
Me- 
tered. 

Time 

in 
which 
Reduc- 
tion 
was  se- 
cured. 
Years. 

City. 

Gals, 

Capita 

day. 

Per- 
cent- 
age 

Results. 

Asb'yPark^N.J.ft 

11900 
1901 

50 

50. 
100. 

i 

Permanent 

Atlanta,  Ga 

1884 
1888 

225t* 
91.0 

134 

60 

30. 
100. 

4 

Permanent 

Atl'ticCity.NJ.ft 

1896 
1898 

60 

52. 

71. 

2 

Permanent 

Fall  River,  Mass.  . 

1874 
1884 

84.5 
32.5 

52 

62 

8. 
67. 

10 

Permanent 

Hamsburg,  Pa .  .  . 

1891 
1897 

89.0* 
60.0 

29* 

32 

.. 

6 

Permanent 

Hartford,  Conn. .  . 

1899 
1904 

110.0 
70.0 

40 

30 

6. 
94. 

5 

Permanent 

Lawrence,  Mass. .  . 

1892 
1904 

87.0 
42.0 

45 

52 

39. 

87. 

12 

Permanent 

Lowell,  Mass 

1900 
1903 

83.0 
51.0 

32 

39 

52. 
65. 

3 

Probably 
permanent 

Madison,  Wis.  .  .  . 

1885 
1898 

129.0** 
50.0 

79 

60 

0.5 
92. 

13 

Permanent 

Milwaukee,  Wis.  . 

1894 
1898 

108.0 
85.0 

23 

20 

47. 
61. 

'4 

Permanent 

Poughk'psie,  N.Y. 

u                              u 

1876 
1884 
1886 
1889 
1892 
1894 

l,472.0*t* 

857.0 
1,023.0 

799.0 

814.0 

614.0 

858 

58 

4. 
18. 
25. 
41. 
58. 
66. 

18 

Permanent 

Wellesley,  Mass. .  . 

M                          « 

1890 
1895 

96.  Of 
58.  Of 

38 

40 

18. 
100. 

5 

Permanent 

tt  Summer  resorts;  small  residential,  but  large  summer  population;  no  per  capita 
figures  possible.     Reduction  based  on  yearly  pumpages. 

♦  Domestic,  public  and  vmaccovmted  for  water.  (Manufacturing  consumption  de- 
ducted from  total.) 

♦*  Based  on  6.06  persons  per  service. 

t  Consumption  per  consumer. 

t  *  Based  on  7.65  persons  per  service. 

*t*  Consumption  per  service. 

27 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

D. — Cities  in  zvhich  large  percentages  of  services  have  been  me- 
tered for  many  years,  showing  permanent  control  of  wastage. 

IN  addition  to  the  cities  already  mentioned  in  which  waste  re- 
duction has  been  successfully  accomplished,  there  are  several 
in  which  wastage  has  been  under  complete  control  for  numbers  of 
years.    A  list  of  a  few  of  these  is  given  in  Table  4. 

TABLE  NO»  4. 

CITIES    IN    WHICH    LARGE    PERCENTAGES    OF     SERVICES 
HAVE  BEEN  METERED  FOR  MANY  YEARS,  SHOW- 
ING PERMANENT  CONTROL  OF  WASTAGE. 


City. 


Atlanta  .... 
Fall  River  .  . 
Harrisburg. . 

Madison 

Milwaukee. .  . 
Poughkeepsie 

Providence  .  . 

Wellesley 

Yonkers* 


Average 

Year 

DaUy 

Number 

Percentages 

Referred 

Consumption 

of  Years 

of  Services 

to. 

per  Capita. 
Gallons. 

Elapsed. 

Metered. 

1888 

91 

All 

1904 

76 

16 

All 

1884 

33 

67 

1902 

40 

18 

95 

1897 

60 

.. 

60 

1904 

65 

7 

65 

1896 

67 

79 

1904 

71 

8 

96 

1898 

85 

61 

1904 

89 

6 

80 

1889 

799t 

41 

1892 

814 

3 

58 

1894 

614 

2 

66 

1899 

635 

5 

80 

1905 

586 

6 

86 

1891 

51 

63 

1894 

63 

69 

1900 

54 

83 

1904 

67 

13 

86 

1895 

58 

100 

1904 

55 

9 

100 

1900 

78 

98 

1902 

89 

96 

1904 

94 

4 

100 

*  Yonkers'  supply  is  all  pumped  and  no  allowance  is  made  in  figures  given  for  slip 
of  pumps.     The  Yonkers  records  run  back  many  years  prior  to  the  first  date  given. 
t  Per  service. 


Before  leaving  this  subject  it  seems  desirable  to  point  out,  in 
view  of  the  comparatively  few  long-time  records  available   for 


Part  I:    Methods  of  Controlling  Loss. 

American  cities,  that  what  is  true  in  regard  to  leakage  and  wast- 
age, methods  of  controlHng  these  losses  and  results  obtained  by 
different  methods  of  control  in  the  United  States,  has  been  found 
to  be  true  in  other  countries.  The  best  foreign  data  on  this  sub- 
ject can  be  had  from  Germany;  and  the  summaries  of  the  sta- 
tistics of  the  several  German  cities  quoted  in  Tables  5  to  11,  in- 
clusive, will  serve  to  show  that  the  problems  in  water  works  man- 
agement presented  in  Germany  years  ago  are  those  that  are  fast 
becoming  of  great  economic  importance  in  the  United  States. 

THE  conditions  in  German  cities  are  so  very  different  from 
those  in  America  that  no  direct  comparisons  between  the 
relative  amount  of  water  consumed  can  with  propriety  be  made. 
Nevertheless  waste  is  prevalent  in  Germany,  as  it  is  wherever 
there  are  people,  and  the  experience  of  the  German  water  works 
managers  in  controlling  this  wastage  are  instructive,  illuminating, 
and  worthy  of  careful  attention.  The  great  detail  in  which  records 
have  been  kept  to  account  for  the  water  supplied  to  the  German 
cities  makes  the  data  particularly  valuable.  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  secure  from  our  American  cities  data  in  sufficient  detail  to  be 
of  much  value.  Rarely  is  it  possible  to  find  statements  of  the  per- 
centage of  the  supply  sold  by  measure,  the  proportions  used  for 
public  purposes,  for  the  purposes  of  the  plant,  for  flushing  out  the 
street  mains,  for  extinguishing  fires,  for  water  used  in  public 
buildings,  comfort  stations,  public  fountains,  park  uses,  street 
washing  and  street  sprinkling ;  and  almost  no  records  can  be  found 
in  which  the  difference  between  the  reported  consumption  and  the 
accounted-for  water  can  be  considered  an  accurate  measure  of  the 
loss  by  leakage  from  the  mains  and  pipes  in  the  streets. 

Of  course  it  must  be  understood  that  conditions  in  German 
cities  are  entirely  different  from  those  at  home,  not  only  in  regard 
to  the  requirements  of  the  people,  their  mode  of  living,  etc.,  but 
as  to  the  laws  under  which  municipalities  are  governed. 

In  practically  all  the  older  German  cities  by  far  the  greater 
proportion  of  the  people  live  in  apartments  or  flats,  detached 
houses  being  few  in  number.  For  this  reason  the  population  is 
usually  very  great  per  unit  of  area,  which  circumstance  contributes 
largely  to  the  small  per  capita  consumption  of  water.     Many  of 

29 


Waste  of   Wafer  and  Its  Reduction. 

these  cities  were  in  former  times  surrounded  by  walls  for  protec- 
tion. In  some  cases  these  walls  are  still  standing,  in  whole  or  in 
part,  and  increased  population  has  been  taken  care  of  by  over- 
crowding. 

Until  comparatively  recent  years  most  of  the  German  cities, 
many  of  which  were  very  old  before  America  was  discovered,  pos- 
sessed no  cheap  means  of  passenger  transportation,  and  working- 
men  and  women  were  compelled  to  live  closely  enough  to  their 
places  of  business  to  be  able  to  go  back  and  forth  on  foot  without 
too  great  loss  of  time ;  and  as  trade  and  commerce  increased  in 
volume  the  value  of  property  became  greater,  necessitating  larger 
rentals,  which,  in  turn,  could  only  be  satisfied  by  crowding  more 
and  more  people  into  each  building.  This  is  the  origin  of  the  flat 
system  in  these  cities,  and  even  now,  when  in  many  the  facilities 
are  equal  to  if  not  surpassing  our  own  in  certain  respects,  the  old 
customs  still  prevail,  being  more  natural,  and  undoubtedly  more 
economical. 

It  is  largely  due  to  this  custom  that  German  cities  have  so  low 
a  per  capita  consumption  of  water.  The  number  of  fixtures  from 
which  water  can  leak  and  waste  is  reduced  to  a  minimum ;  the 
lengths  of  distribution  pipes  necessary  to  supply  the  water,  and 
consequently,  the  numbers  of  opportunities  for  losses  from  leaky 
joints,  hydrants,  valves,  service  pipes,  etc.,  are  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum; the  difficulties  of  keeping  close  watch  to  prevent  leakage 
and  wastage  are  reduced  to  a  minimum  and  consequently  the  ex- 
penses of  administration.  Contrast  the  conditions  in  Berlin  with 
those  in  Detroit  for  instance.  In  Berlin  there  is  an  average  of 
over  70  people  supplied  by  each  service  pipe;  in  Detroit  a  little 
over  five  people.  The  opportunities  for  losses  and  leakage  at 
Detroit,  therefore,  are  at  least  1-4  times  (in  reality  much  more 
than  this)  as  great  as  in  Berlin  and  a  loss  of  10  per  cent  of  the 
water  at  Berlin  by  leakage,  representing  1.8  gallons  per  capita 
per  day,  would  be  no  less  extravagant  than  a  loss  of  25  gallons 
per  capita  per  day  in  Detroit,  assuming  that  in  Berlin  there  were 
as  great  a  number  of  fixtures  to  each  family  as  in  Detroit.  In 
1890,  exclusive  of  those  of  a  public  nature,  there  were  in  Berlin 
about  17,000  bath  tubs  for  a  population  of  1,396,963  people,  or 
one  tub  for  every  79  people.     When  also  it  is  understood  that. 


Part  I:    Methods  of  Controlling  Loss. 

excepting  in  the  finer  hotels  and  better  class  of  apartments,  per- 
manent wash  stands  with  hot  and  cold  water,  and  wash  tubs  for 
laundry  purposes  supplied  with  hot  and  cold  water,  and  such  other 
fixtures  as  are  common  in  our  cities,  are  unknown  in  most  of  the 
European  cities,  it  will  be  realized  that  the  opportunities  for  wast- 
ing water  are  limited.  And  it  will  also  be  apparent  that  com- 
parisons between  American  cities  and  European  cities  which  do 
not  take  these  conditions  into  account  are  misleading  and  im- 
proper. 

The  following  statistics  are  given,  therefore,  not  for  the  pur- 
pose of  comparing  the  German  with  the  American  water  consump- 
tion, but  for  the  reason  that  they  point  out  that  even  where  the  de- 
mands for  water  are  very  small,  as  measured  by  our  home  stand- 
ards, waste  takes  place  and  is  sensitive  to  remedial  measures  in  al- 
most as  great  a  proportion  as  in  our  American  cities.  In  other 
words,  although  the  wastes  are  smaller  because  the  opportunities 
for  waste  are  smaller,  in  proportion  they  are  as  great  as  those  to 
which  we  are  accustomed;  and  so  far  as  the  personal  factor  in 
waste  is  concerned,  the  American,  as  an  individual,  is  not  more 
wasteful  than  his  cousins  across  the  seas.  More  water  has  to  be 
supplied  to  the  American,  the  conditions  existing  in  the  cities  in 
which  he  lives  demanding  it,  and  he  consumes  and  uses  more 
water;  but  the  waste,  or,  to  express  it  more  properly,  the  lost 
water,  is  not  chargeable  to  the  wastefulness  of  the  individual,  but 
to  the  fact  that  in  our  cities  the  opportunities  for  leakage  from 
mains  and  service  pipes  and  from  faulty  plumbing,  old,  worn-out 
faucets,  ball-cocks,  etc.,  are  multiplied  many  fold. 

The  data  from  which  the  statistics  for  the  following  cities  were 
compiled  were  derived  mainly  from  the  Statistical  Summary  of 
the  German  Water  Works,  published  by  the  German  Society  of 
Gas  and  Water  Experts,  arranged  and  edited  by  E.  Grahn,  under 
the  title,  "Die  Stadtische  Wasserversorgung  in  Deutschen  Reiche 
sowie  in  einigen  Nachbarlandern,"  printed  by  R.  Oldenbourg, 
Munich  and  Berlin,  1902.  This  monumental  work  contains  in 
great  detail  data  regarding  nearly  all  the  water  works  plants  in 
the  German  Empire  and  neighboring  countries,  and  is  a  model, 
in  many  respects,  of  the  form  in  which  statistical  data  regarding 
water  works  plants  should  be  recorded. 

31 


Waste  of  Water  and  Us  Reduction. 

The  cities  chosen  for  illustration  represent  a  combined  popu- 
lation of  over  7,000,000  people  and  were  selected  almost  at  ran- 
dom. Many  well-known  cities  were  omitted  for  the  only  reason 
that  reproducing  their  statistics  would  simply  be  repeating  the 
same  story  over  and  over. 

In  the  following  tables  the  statistics  are  summarized  in  groups 
according  to  the  percentage  of  the  consumption  passed  through 
meters.  The  first  group,  Table  5,  contains  25  cities  in  which  prac- 
tically all  water  is  sold  by  meter. 

It  will  be  observed  that  each  of  these  completely  metered  cities 
has  its  own  characteristic  rate  of  consumption ;  but  the  variation 
from  lowest  to  highest  exhibits  as  great  a  percentage  range  as  will 
be  found  in  any  country. 


Part  I:    Methods  of  Controlling  Loss. 


TABLE  NO.  S 

CITIES  IN  WHICH  ALL  CONSUMERS  ARE  METERED. 


City. 


Griez 

Quedlinburg.  .  . 

Gotha 

Potsdam 

Erfurt 

Eisenach 

Weimar 

Rudolstadt .... 

Bamberg 

Charlotte  nburg 

Offenbach 

Mainz 

Berlin 

Colmar 

Stettin 

Hannover 

Giessen 

Heidelberg. .  .  . 

Stralsund 

Darmstadt..  .  . 

Mannheim 

Breslau 

Magdeburg 

Strassburg 

Worms 


Year 
Re- 
ferred 
to. 


1899 
1896 
1899 
1896 
1896 
1899 
1897 
1899 
1897 
1896 
1900 
1900 
1896 
1900 
1896 
1896 
1900 
1899 
1896 
1900 
1900 
1896 
1896 
1900 
1900 


Population. 


23,000 
22,000 
31.670 
55,849 
78,167 
33,886 


13,000 

39,500 

350,000 

50,500 

80,000 

1,719,183 

40,000 

140,000 

246,000 

25,200 

38,000 

30,105 

70,000 

120,800 

370,000 

224,235 

117,500 

32,000 


Per  Capita  Consvimption. 
Gallons  per  Day. 


Total. 


Con-    I 
sumers  i Public 
alone.    I  Uses. 


10 

12 

13 

14 

14 

15 

15.8 

16.1 

17.1 

17.2 

18.2 

18.8 

20.0 

21.2 

21.2 

21.4 

21.4 

21.4 

22.5 

23.2 

24.8 

27.2 

28.8 


6.9 
5.7 
6.3 
1 
5 
5 
3 
4 


9.8 

'9.1 
10.3 
14.9 

8.5 
18.6 
15.7 


16.1 
14.4 
13.0 
18.8 
16.7 
17.4 
20.0 
13.3 
24.2 


0.3 
3.3 

3.1 
3.6 


3.4 

6.4 
1.6 
0.5 
2.4 
1.8 
1.1 
11.2 
2.6 


Plant 


1.9 
2.4 
1.5 

1.4 
3.7 

4.4 
2.7 

4'.9 
3.3 
1.7 
1.7 

.2 
3.5 
1.7 

.6 
6.8 
2.1 
3.4 


Percentage 
of  Supply 
Metered. 


Total. 


90 
76 
61 

77 
67 
74 

47 
85 

75 

82 

76 
76 
90 
66 
60 
88 
74 
78 
86 
49 
88 


Con- 
sum- 
ers. 


100 

100 
100 
100 
100 

99 
100 
100 

78 

ioo 
100 
100 
100 

100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 


To  show  the  lack  of  correspondence  between  the  percentage 
of  the  consumption  metered  and  the  per  capita  consumption,  Table 
6  has  been  prepared.  This  contains  the  statistics,  arranged  in 
pairs,  of  cities  of  about  the  same  population,  and  having  the  same 
per  capita  rate  of  consumption  but  widely  varying  percentages  of 
the  supply  metered. 

It  would  seem  hardly  necessary  to  make  such  comparisons,  but 
the  argument  is  so  frequently  used  by  the  layman  that  because 
such  and  such  a  city  is  metered  and  has  a  low  rate  of  consumption, 
therefore  such  and  such  cities,  if  metered,  should  also  have  their 
rates  of  consumption  reduced  to  the  same  amounts,  that  it  seems 
advisable  to  refute  such  statements  decisively  by  the  actual  results 
of  experience. 

33 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


TABLE  NO.  6. 


City. 

Year 

referred 

to. 

Popula- 
tion. 

Per  capita 
Consump- 
tion 
Gallons 
Daily. 

Percentage  of 

Total 
Supply 

Metered . . 

Consumers 
Supply 
Metered. 

Frankfort  O-M 

Eisenach 

1895 
1899 

59,049 

33,886 

14.3 
14.3 

43 
67 

99 

Kiel 

Darmstadt 

1896 
1900 

86,000 
70,000 

21.9 
21.4 

10 

88 

100 

Danzig 

Mannheim 

1895 
1900 

120,000 
120,800 

23.7 
22.5 

44 
74 

100 

Bremen 

Magdeburg 

1900 
1896 

167,000 
224,235 

25.7 

24.8 

28 
86 

100 

Bernberg 

1900 
1900 

34,500 
32,000 

27.5 

28.8 

8 
88 

Worms 

100 

Tables  7  and  8  contain  the  records  of  cities  partially  metered, 
and  cities  practically  without  meters. 

In  Table  7,  exhibiting  the  statistics  of  unmetered  cities, 
will  be  found  several  with  rates  of  consumption  no  higher  than 
those  either  partially  or  completely  metered.  The  significance  of 
this  is  that  meters  have  no  influence  upon  the  amount  of  water 
required.  Careful  inspections  for  wastage,  maintained  system- 
atically without  relaxation,  with  the  enforcement  of  penalties  for 
serious  infractions  of  the  regulations  of  the  water  departments 
are  nearly  as  efficacious  as  meters  in  restricting  wastage  and  have 
the  same  result:  viz.,  to  prevent  waste,  but  not  use. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  unmetered  cities  where  no  care  is  taken 
to  husband  the  supplies  the  consumption  may  reach  very  high 
amounts.  It  is  not  possible  from  the  data  at  hand,  and  without 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  conditions  in  each  city,  to  criticise  or 
even  explain  the  reasons  why  some  cities  have  high  and  some  low 
rates  of  consumption. 


34 


Part  I:    Methods  of  Controlling  Loss. 

TABLE  NO,  7- 

CITIES  WHICH  ARE  PRACTICALLY  UNMETERED. 


City. 


Year. 


Kiel 

Bremen .... 
Bernberg .  . 
Karlsruhe. . 
Dessau. ... 
Regensburg 

Metz 

Wiirzburg. . 
Augsburg. . 
Lubeck 


1896 
1900 
1900 
1899 
1900 
1897 
1900 
1897 
1895 
1900 


Popula- 
tion. 


86,200 
167,000 
34,500 
95,000 
50,000 
47,400 
54,517 
71,000 
81,900 
73,093 


Per  Capita  Consumption, 
Gallons  {Per  Day. 


Total. 


21.9 
25.7 
27.5 
32.0 
33.0 
34.9 
35.7 
56.6 
63.8 
82.8 


Con- 
sumers 
Alone. 


Pub- 
lic 
Uses. 


Plant. 


Percent' 
age  of 

Supply 
Me- 
tered. 


18.2 

2.4 

1.3 

23.7 

28.5 

'3.3 
3.5 

0.5 

13.0 
34.5 
56.0 

6.6 

18.7 

7.8 

16.1 
3.4 

10 

28 

8 

30 

17 

18 

12 

6 

1 

9 


TABLE  NO.  8. 

CITIES  WHICH  ARE  PARTIALLY  METERED. 


City. 


Frankfort  O-M 
Koenigsberg. .  . 

Leipzig 

NiJrnberg 

Halle 

Danzig 

Dresden 

Miillhausen.. .  . 
Hamburg 


Per 

Capita  Consumpt 

ion, 

1 

Gallons 

Per  Day. 

Year. 

Popula- 

tion. 

Con- 

Pub- 

Total. 

sumers 
Alone. 

lic 
Uses. 

Plant. 

1895 

59,049 

14.3 

9.7 

4.4 

.2 

1896 

172,000 

17.4 

15.1 

1.4 

9 

1898 

422,000 

17.7 

.... 

. 

1897 

177,000 

20.3 

13.0 

2.6 

4 

7 

1896 

117,500 

21.7 

20.3 

1.3 

0 

1 

1895 

120,000 

23.7 

.  . 

1898 

366,000 

26.7 

.... 

.  . 

1900 

84,000 

27.0 

.... 

.... 

.  . 

1899 

684,400 

47.0 

44.0 

3.0 

Percent- 
age of 
Supply 
Me- 
tered. 


43 

41 

63 
78 
44 

64 
49 


For  convenience  the  data  regarding  these  cities  have  been  re- 
arranged in  the  form  of  summaries  for  each  group.  Table  9 
contains  the  data  regarding  waste  reduction  in  the  cities  which 
formerly  sold  water  on  the  assessment  plan  but  changed  to  the 
plan  of  sale  by  measure.  Table  10  contains  the  data  regarding 
cities  in  which  a  comparatively  small  percentage  of  the  consump- 


Waste   of   Wafer  and  Its  Reduction. 

tion  is  sold  by  measure,  and  Table  11  the  data  regarding  cities  in 
which  practically  all  the  water  has  been  sold  by  measure  for  many 
years. 

TABLE  NO*  9. 

CITIES  IN  WHICH  METERS  ARE  EXTENSIVELY  IN  USE, 
Showing  Amount  of  Reduction  of  Wastage  and  Number  of  Years  in 
Which  Results  Were  Obtained. 


City. 


Year 
Re- 
ferred 
to. 


Bamberg. . . 
Bamberg... 

Berlin 

Berlin 

Eisenach. . 
Eisenach. . 

Hamburg. . 
Hamburg . . 

Hannover. 
Hannover . 

Leipzig. . . . 
Leipzig 

Offenbach . 
Offenbach. 

Rudolstadt 
Rudolstadt 

Stettin.  .  .  . 
Stettin.  .  .  . 

Stralsund . . 
Stralsund .  . 


1888 
1895 

1868 
1880 

1888 
1894 

1891 
1899 

1890 
1894 

1889 
1891 

1899 
1900 

1895 
1898 

1894 
1896 

1893 
1896 


Average 
Daily 
Con- 
stimp- 

Per 
Capita, 
Gallons. 

Reduction  of 
Wastage. 

Time  in 
which 
this  re- 
duction 
was  ac- 
com- 
plished. 
Years. 

Percent- 
age of 
total 

Supply 
Sold 
by 
Meas- 
ure. 

Gallons, 

Per 
Capita, 
Daily. 

Per 
centage. 

28.5 

25 

15.3 

13.2 

46 

7 

44 

26.1 

36 

16.6 

9.5 

36 

12 

78 

33.0 

.... 

18 

12.4 

20.6 

62 

6 

50 

58.3 

29 

47.0 

11.3 

20 

8 

49 

34.0 

19 

15.8 

18.2 

54 

. 

4 

68 

27.7 

20 

15.3 

12.4 

45 

2 

90 

25.6 

34 

17.1 

8.5 

33 

1 

53 

21.9 

14.3 

7.6 

35 

3 

31.0 

13 

20.0 

11.0 

33 

2 

76 

40.2 

48 

21.4 

18.8 

47 

3 

78 

Percent- 
age of 
Con- 
sumers' 
Supply 
Sold 
by 
Meas- 


26 
99 

13 
21 

20 
100 


29 
100 


In  these  cities  it  will  be  seen  that  in  every  instance  there  has 
been  a  substantial  reduction  of  wastage,  amounting  to  from  20  to 
G2  per  cent  of  the  total  supply.  Omitting  Hamburg,  in  which 
only  21  per  cent  of  the  consumers'  water  is  metered,  the  average 
reduction  of  wastage  would  represent  a  saving  of  about  43  per 
cent  of  the  water  supplied  to  these  cities,  the  variation  ranging 
from  33  to  62  per  cent. 


36 


Pari  I:    Methods  of  Controlling  Loss. 

TABLE  NO.  ta 

CITIES  IN  WHICH  COMPARATIVELY  FEW  METERS  ARE  IN 
USE:  Showing  in  Every  Case  an  Irrational  Fluctuation  of  the  Rate 
of  Consumption,  with  a  Pronounced  Tendency  to  Increase  More  than 
to  Decrease. 


City. 


Augsburg . 
Lubeck . .  , 


Wurzburg . 


Year. 


Regensburg  .  .  . 
Konigsberg  .  . . 
Kiel 


Metz. 


Dessau. . . 
Karlsruhe 


Bremen, 


1888 
1890 
1895 

1869 
1882 
1888 
1894 
1896 
1898 
1900 

1892 
1893 
1894 
1896 
1897 

1887 
1892 
1897 

1892 
1894 
1896 

1889 
1890 
1891 
1895 
1896 

1894 
1897 
1898 
1900 

1890 
1898 

1880 
1883 
1888 
1893 
1894 
1895 
1899 

1896 
1900 


Average 

Daily 
Consump- 
tion 
Per  Capita, 
Gallons. 


61.8 
56.8 
63.8 

14.5 
63.6 
58.3 
95.3 
79.2 
92.0 
82.8 

42.0 
49.0 

44.8 
58.4 
56.6 


30.1 
41.6 
34.9 

15.9 
20.1 
17.4 

16.6 
24.0 
20.1 
25.9 
21.9 

25.9 
34.6 
32.4 
35.7 

19.5 
34.0 

20.8 
19.5 
25.3 
34.6 
30.6 
37.0 
32.0 

21.6 
25.7 


Increase 

In  Gallons 

Per  Capita 

Per 

Day. 


7.0 

49.1 
37.0 

12.8 

'7.6 
13.6 

ii'.5 

'4.2 

'7.4 
'5'.8 

'8'.7 
3.3 


5.8 
9.3 

6.4 


4.1 


Reduction 

In  Gallons 

Per  Capita, 

Per 

Day. 


5.0 

5.3 

16.1 

9'.  2 

4.2 

r.8 

6.7 

2.7 

3.9 
4.0 

2.2 

1.3 

4.0 
5.0 


Number 
of  Years 
Included. 


2 
5 

i3 
6 
6 
2 

2 
2 


Percent- 
age of 
Supply 
Sold  by 

Measure. 


9 

8 

8 

12 

10 

3 
10 
18 

13 

16 
41 

12 
11 
13 
9 
10 

12 
12 
12 
12 

14 
15 

25 
25 
25 
26 
29 
25 
33 

25 

28 


{Table  No.  10  continued  on  next  page.) 
37 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


TABLE   NO.  to.— Continued, 


The  wide  range  of  fluctuation  in  the  rate  of  consumption  in 
each  of  these  unmetered  cities,  Table  10,  is  apparent  and  charac- 
teristic of  cities  where  water  is  sold  a  discretion,  or  where  the  me- 
ters are  practically  confined  to  manufacturing  and  trades  uses. 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  every  city  in  this  list,  except  Danzig,  the 
total  increase  exceeds  the  total  decrease  by  a  large  percentage.  In 
Danzig  apparently  a  sufficient  proportion  of  the  domestic  con- 
sumption is  metered  to  hold  the  total  consumption  down  where 
fluctuations  may  be  in  either  direction. 


38 


Part  I:    Methods  of  Controlling  Loss. 


TABLE  NO,  U. 

CITIES    IN    WHICH    PRACTICALLY    ALL    CONSUMERS    HAVE 
BEEN  METERED  FOR  MANY  YEARS. 


City. 


Erfurt .  . 
Breslau 
Colmar. 


Charlottenburg. 

Darmstadt .... 
Gotha 


Magdeburg . 


Griez 

Giessen,  .  . 
Mannheim. 

Mainz 

Potsdam . . 


Quedlinburg. 

Strassburg. . . 

Weimar 

Worms 

Heidelberg .  . 


Year. 


1890 
1896 

1889 
1896 

1890 
1894 
1897 
1900 
1889 
1893 
1894 
1896 
1888 
1889 
1900 
1890 
1893 
1894 
1896 
1898 
1899 

1885 
1889 
1896 
1888 
1899 
1889 
1899 
1889 
1900 
1889 
1900 
1882 
1893 
1896 
1878 
1893 
1896 
1889 
1900 
1878 
1897 
1893 
1900 
1888 
1899 


Average 
Daily 
Con- 
sump- 
tion  per 
Capita, 
Gallons. 


11.4 
13.5 
19.5 
23.2 

14.8 
21.1 
16.1 
18.8 
9.5 
15.9 
14.5 
16.1 
18.7 
13.0 
21.4 

15.0 

9.8 

12.7 

9.0 

14.0 

10.3 

27.2 

23.2 

24.8 

5.8 

7.6 

4.2 

22.7 

13.7 

22.5 

5.8 

17.2 

4.5 

18.5 

12.7 

4.8 

10.0 

8.2 

14.5 

27.2 

11.3 
14.5 
22.2 
28.8 
21.9 
21.4 


Reduc- 
tion in 
Gallons 

Per 
Capita, 
per  Day, 


*2".i 

3.7 

'6.3 
'2.7 

5 

'6.4 

■i".6 

i 

'8.4 

'5 

'2.9 
5.0 

5. 
3. 

4" 

r.6 

'4'. 

'r.8 

18.5 

'8'.8 

11.4 

14.0 

'5'. 

■5'.2 

12'.7 

3.2 

'6.6 

•  •  • 

6'. 

8 


No.  of 
Years 
Includ- 
ed 


Percentage  of  Sup- 
ply Sold  by 
Measure. 


6 

'7 

'4 
3 
3 

'4 

1 
2 

i 
11 

'3 

1 
2 
2 

1 

'4 

7 
11 
16 

ii 

ii 

ii 
3 

3 


11 

19 

'7 

5  I      il 


I  86 

I  77 

I  77 

I  78 

ITo  all  consumers 


88 
79 
80 
85 
75 
83 
88 
To  all  consumers 


88 

90 

To  all  consumers 

71 

74 
69 
75 

To  all  consumers 


71 
64 
76 

To  all  consumers 

85 
74 
93 
88 
32 
66 


39 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

In  the  above  cities,  where  practically  all  the  consumers  have 
been  metered  for  several  years,  there  is  generally  a  tendency 
toward  higher  rates  with  increasing  population;  in  Gotha  there 
has  been  a  material  reduction;  in  Magdeburg  a  slight  reduction. 

In  nearly  all  the  German  cities  of  importance  water  was  for- 
merly sold  at  rates  based  upon  a  percentage  of  rentals,  upon 
assessments,  or  upon  fixture  rates.  In  all  these  cities  difficulties 
with  wastage  have  been  experienced  and  the  amount  of  wastage 
has,  in  many  cases,  been  relatively  as  great  as  in  other  countries 
where  greater  amounts  of  water  are  used. 

In  many  of  these  cities  the  methods  used  to  control  wastage 
have  been  the  familiar  ones  of  house-to-house  inspections,  of 
changing  to  the  method  of  selling  water  by  measure,  and  of  par- 
tial metering  combined  with  inspections. 

In  those  where  inspections  have  been  in  force  the  method  was 
found  efficacious  to  a  degree  depending  upon  the  frequency  and 
thoroughness  of  the  inspections ;  when  inspections  were  stopped 
wastage  would,  in  a  few  years,  be  as  great  or  even  greater  than 
before  inspections  were  undertaken. 

When  meterage  was  resorted  to  wastage  began  to  cease,  but 
full  effects  in  waste  reduction  were  not  derived  until  nearly  all  of 
the  consumers  were  paying  for  their  water  by  measure. 

Metering  of  manufacturing  consumers  has  had  little  effect,  as 
a  rule,  on  total  wastage,  for  the  reason  that  but  a  small  proportion 
of  the  water  supplied  by  the  Municipal  plants  in  Germany  is  con- 
sumed by  this  class  of  takers,  the  greater  percentage  going  to 
domestic  and  small  trades  consumers.  Therefore,  to  control  wast- 
age, the  domestic  consumers  have  had  to  be  reached. 

Where  metering  has  been  resorted  to  inspections  from  time  to 
time  were  necessary  to  discover  fraudulent  uses,  such  as  tapping 
the  service  pipes  back  of  the  meters ;  and  where  complete  meter- 
ing has  been  combined  with  occasional  inspections  wastage  has 
permanently  ceased. 

The  sale  of  water  by  meter  has  not  tended  to  discourage  its 
use  to  a  point  below  the  liberal  needs  of  the  consumers.  In  all  the 
cities  which  hav-e  been  completely  metered  for  many  years  the  per 
capita  rate  is  slowly  increasing  in  accordance  with  the  require- 
ments of  better  living  and  greater  needs. 


Part  I:    Methods  of  Controlling  Loss. 

The  water  used  for  public  purposes  is  about  the  same  amount 
per  capita  in  German  cities  as  in  American  cities  of  the  same  size 
and  character,  the  difference  in  consumption  being  entirely  in  the 
uses  for  domestic  manufacturing  and  trades  purposes.  The  manu- 
facturing use  being,  as  a  rule,  insignificant,  the  German  water 
works  plants  have  to  provide  water  only  for  domestic  consump- 
tion and  under  conditions  where  there  are  relatively  few  fixtures 
per  unit  of  population ;  and  consequently  where,  it  being  less  con- 
venient to  draw  water,  less  water  is  used  and  less  can  be  wasted. 

It  is  also  to  be  seen,  taking  Berlin  as  an  example,  a  city  as 
large  as  Manhattan  Borough  of  New  York,  that  although  nearly 
all  consumers  live  in  rented  properties  where  water  rates  are  col- 
lected from  the  owners  of  the  properties,  and  not  from  the  con- 
sumers, the  system  of  sale  by  measure  has  been  a  natural  transi- 
tion from  the  old,  illogical  system  of  sale  a  discretion,  entirely 
brought  about  by  voluntary  requests  for  meters  when  a  few 
chosen  landlords  had  given  out  the  word  that  the  system  was  more 
economical  and  more  advantageous  than  the  former  plan  of  pay- 
ments based  on  rentals. 

Of  all  the  cities  where  meters  have  been  introduced  not  one 
has  ever  gone  back  to  the  former  methods ;  and  in  not  one  has 
there  failed  to  be  a  healthy  and  steady  increase  in  the  percentage 
of  water  sold  by  meter.  In  some  the  rate  of  introduction  has  been 
more  rapid  than  in  others,  but  they  one  and  all  testify  to  the  fair- 
ness, logicalness,  and  propriety  of  the  system. 

It  may  be  taken  as  axiomatic  that  when  a  change  has  been 
made  from  old  customs  to  new  ones,  a  change  for  the  worse  will 
not  long  be  tolerated  by  any  public, — German  or  American,  and 
we  have,  in  these  few  German  cities,  buying  water  exclusively  by 
measure,  (having  changed  from  the  antiquated  system  of  charge 
on  the  assessment  plan)  a  population  greater  than  the  combined 
populations  of  New  York,  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  Brooklyn,  Bos- 
ton and  Baltimore,  not  only  endorsing  the  method  of  sale-by- 
measure  by  tolerance,  but  emphasizing  the  endorsement  by  rapidly 
extending  it. 

The  conditions  in  Berlin  were  very  similar  to  those  in  New 
York  and  Philadelphia — large  holdings  of  property  by  compara- 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

tively  few  owners,  and  all  owners  at  the  mercy  of  presumably 
wasteful  tenants.  But  in  Berlin,  as  in  every  other  city  which  has 
had  the  experience,  it  was  found  that  the  tenants  did  not  wilfully 
waste  water. 

The  wastage  attributed  to  tenants  was  chargeable  to  careless 
landlords  who,  to  personally  save  a  few  dollars  in  plumbers'  bills, 
preferred  to  let  the  water  run  and  have  its  value  charged  up  in 
the  taxes. 

Summing  up  the  experiences  of  the  foregoing  American  and 
German  cities  it  may  be  stated : 

First. — Wastage  and  leakage  can  be  quickly  stopped  and  per- 
manently suppressed  without  depriving  any  citizen  of  the  use 
of  as  much  water  as  that  to  which  he  has  been  accustomed. 
That  the  question  of  the  suppression  of  the  greater  part  of 
the  wastage  is  to  all  intents  and  purposes  merely  a  hunt  for 
leaks  followed  by  the  watching  of  the  different  consumers 
and  the  insisting  that  they  keep  fixtures  from  leaking. 

Second. — That  sale  of  water  by  measure  has  no  tendency  to  re- 
strict the  use  of  water,  but  does  notify  the  owner  when  the 
leakage  from  the  faucets  and  other  fixtures,  is  serious  enough 
to  require  attention.  That  wastage  from  domestic  premises  is 
rare,  but  that  leakage  is  prevalent.  That  tenants  do  not  wil- 
fully waste  water,  and  that  the  blame  for  the  present  condi- 
tions in  New  York  rests  not  upon  the  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  users  of  water,  but  upon  the  relatively  few  owners  who 
neglect  to  keep  their  plumbing  in  order  as  required  by  the 
City  ordinances.  That  the  responsibility  for  this  state  of  affairs 
rests  primarily  with  the  systeni  under  which  the  water  is 
sold.  That  the  sale  of  water  by  meter  does  not  work  a  hard- 
ship on  owners  of  pro])erty  rented  to  tenants ;  in  practically 
all  cities,  from  Berlin  to  Asbury  Park,  the  water  taxes  are 
liens  on  the  property,  and  yet,  in  no  city,  where  the  system  has 
been  adopted  permanently,  and  where  the  rates  have  been 
properly  adjusted,  would  cither  the  water-works  managers  or 
the  inhabitants  of  the  city  go  back  to  the  old  system. 

The  rlata  given  in  the  preceding  pages  relating  to  the  exper- 
iences of  the  various  American  and  German  cities  are  only  sum- 

42 


Part  I:    Methods  of  Controlling  Loss. 

maries  and  in  the  brief  form  stated  would  not  aflford  sufficient 
proof  of  the  two  foregoing  propositions  regarding  waste  and 
leak  control. 

A  perusal  of  the  detailed  experiences  in  each  city  referred  to, 
descriptions  of  which  will  be  found  in  Appendix  D,  will,  however, 
be  instructive,  and  point  out  several  important  facts  that  should 
be  understood  in  considering  the  advisability  of  the  application 
of  any  special  methods  for  the  control  of  leakage  and  wastage  in 
New  York. 


48 


A 


PART  11, 

THE  UNACCOUNTED  FOR   WATER. 

{See,  also,  Appendix  A.) 

LL  devices  and  methods  resorted  to  for  the  measurement  of 
flowing  water  are  subject  to  errors  which  can  not  be  avoid- 
ed under  practical  working  conditions ;  therefore  the  results  of  all 
such  measurements  are  but  approximate  and  must  be  accepted 
as  such. 

Although  reasonable  accuracy  can  be  obtained  in  experimental 
measurements  the  limits  of  error  must  be  greatly  extended  when 
considering  what  can  be  practically  depended  upon  in  dealing  with 
a  large  quantity  like  that  supplied  daily  to  New  York  City  and 
which  must  be  sold  to  consumers  in  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
small  driblets.  Therefore  in  no  large  city  is  it  ever  possible  to  ac- 
count for  all  the  water  which  is  delivered  into  the  mains  in  the 
streets. 

The  difference  between  the  quantity  supplied  to  the  City  and 
the  quantity  accounted  for  by  use,  that  is,  by  commercial,  do- 
mestic, public,  and  manufacturing  consumption,  I  shall  refer  to 
hereafter  as  ''The  unaccounted-for  water." 

Under  the  best  practicable  conditions,  even  if  all  the  water 
were  sold  by  meter  measurement,  it  is  not  probable  that  over  75 
per  cent  of  the  total  amount  supplied  to  New  York  City  could 
actually  be  accounted  for ;  the  25  per  cent  not  accounted  for  rep- 
resenting leakage  from  mains  and  service  pipes  outside  the  houses, 
uncertainties  in  the  measurement  of  the  water  entering  the  city 
distribution  system,  impracticability  of  keeping  all  water-meters 
in  perfect  order  at  the  same  time,  under-registration  of  meters, 
particularly  those  which  have  become  more  or  less  worn  in  ser- 
vice, the  losses  due  to  the  failure  of  meters  to  register  the  very 
slight  flows  caused  by  dribbling  drafts  when  tanks  are  nearly 
filled,  the  surreptitious  uses  of  water  which  can  not  always  be 
detected  and  the  scattered  uses  of  unmetered  water,  for  various 
purposes,  and  of  which  no  account  is  kept. 

What  would  be  considered  a  proper  and  reasonable  allowance 
for  unaccounted-for  water  in  New  York  City  must  be  a  matter  of 
judgment,  based  on  local  conditions  and  on  results  which  have 

44 


Part  II:     Unaccounted-For   Water. 

been  obtained  in  smaller  American  cities  where  it  has  been  pos- 
sible to  make  close  estimates  of  the  total  supply,  and  of  the  water 
actually  taken  through  meters  by  consumers. 

While  it  may  seem  unreasonable,  to  those  who  have  not  given 
this  matter  special  study,  to  assume  that  not  over  three-fourths 
of  the  water  could  be  accounted  for  in  New  York  City  under  the 
most  favorable  conditions  considerable  light  will  be  thrown  on 
the  matter  by  an  examination  of  the  data  given  in  Table  12  and 
in  Appendix  A. 

TABLE  NO.  \2, 

COMPARATIVE    STATISTICS    OF    SEVERAL    AMERICAN    AND 

GERMAN  CITIES, 

Showing  Particularly  the  Percentage  of  the  Total  Supply  Not  Accounted 
For.  (By  Meters  on  Consumers'  Supply  Pipes  and  Careful  Estimates 
of  the  Unmetered  Waters.)  Figures  Given,  Relating  to  Consumption 
of  Water,  Are,  Unless  Otherwise  Noted,  Per  Capita  Per  Diem. 


City. 


Brockton 


Boston. 


Cleveland. . 
Englewood. 
Fall  River. 


Hackensack 


Hartford.  . 
Harrisburg. 


Year 


1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1880 
1892 
1904 
1888 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1904 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 


Water  Taken  by  Con- 
sumers; Gallons  per 
per  Capita  per  day. 


Manu- 
fac- 
turing. 

Do- 
mestic 

3.4 

14.4 

4.0 

15.0 

4.5 

15.0 

4.5 

15.6 

5.0 

16.0 

5.5 

16.6  1 

5.1 

15.5  1 

Total. 


25.0 
30.0 
40.0 


30.0*1 
;30.0*i 
126.0  I 


7.0  115.0 


(^Y^.) 
3.0*30.0 
33.0  130.0* 
43.0  130.0* 
42.0    30.0* 
37.0  i30.0* 


17.8 
19.0 
19.5 
20.1 
21.0 
22.1 
20.6 
55.0 
60.0 
66.0 

22.0 
21.4 
20.4 
23.4 


33.0 
63.0 
73.0 
72.0 
67.0 


Water 

for 
Public 
Uses 
Galls. 


Water 
Not  Ac- 
Counted 
for. 

Galls. 


10, 

11, 

10, 
10 
12 
12, 
13 
29, 
32 
20 

"s" 

7, 

6, 

8, 

148, 

81, 

101, 

131 

173 

24, 

54, 

44, 

44, 

30, 


Total 
per  Cap- 
ita per 
Day. 
Galls. 


31. 
33 
33 
33 
36 
37 
36 
86, 
95 
96 

36' 
36 
33 

40 
308 
238, 
256, 
313 
446 

62 
122, 
122, 
121, 
108, 


Kind 

of 
Supply 


P'mpd 


Gr  'vty 

P'nipd 
P'mpd 
P'mpd 


P'mpd 


Gr  'vty 
P'mpd 


Per 
Cent 

of 
Servi- 
ices 
Me- 
tered. 


79 
80 

81 
83 
90 
90 
91 


49 

100 

93 

94 

95 

95 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

99 


^2;^; 


{Tabic  No.  12  continued  on  next  page.) 

46 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


TABLE   NO.    12.— Continued. 


City. 


Harrisburof. 


Lawrence 


Milwaukee 
Ridgefield 


Madison 


Syracuse 
Taunton 


Ware. 
Wellesley 


W.  Orange. . 
Woonsocket 
Worcester 
Yonkers 


Bamberg 


Year 


Berlin 


1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1904 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1904 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1902 
1901 
!1902 
1903 
1904 
190.5 
1902 
1902 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 
1895 
1896 
1897 
1895 
1896 


Water  Taken  by  Con- 
sumers; Gallons  per 
Capita  per  Day. 


Manu- 
fac- 
turing. 


44.0 
42.0 
47.0 
49.0 
65.0 
73.0 
80.0 
79.0 
78.0 
81.0 
11.0 
10.0 
8.0 
45.0 


Do- 
mestic 


30, 
30, 
30. 
30. 
30. 
130. 
'30. 
,30. 
J30. 
30. 
15. 
15. 
17. 
25. 


(i 


Yr.) 


39 

13 

13.0 

14.8 

14.6 

15.2 

16.6 

14.7 


3    31 


0  !18 
22 
20 
22 
20 
21 
21 


0.3 
0.3 
0.4 
0.4 


13.0    18. 


16.0 
22.0 
22.0 
24.0 


Total. 


74.0 

72.0 

77.0 

79.0 

95.0 

103.0 

110.0 

109.0 

108.0 

111.0 

26.0 

25.0 

25.0 

70.0 


Water 
for 

Public 

Uses, 

Gals. 


5.0* 
5.0* 
5.0* 
5.0* 


14.0 
14.0 
14.0 
15.0 
20.0 
21.0 
21.0 
21.0 
70.3 
31.3 
35.5 
35.3 
37.1 
35.7 


Water 
Not  Ac- 
counted 
for, 
Gals. 


13.0* 

13.0* 

!l3.0* 

13.0* 

13.0* 

13.0* 

13.0* 

il3.0* 

18.0 

3.0*1 

3.0*i 

3.0*1 


3.0* 


37.6 

3.0* 

36.2 

3.0* 

24.6 

2^8 

25.7 

2.2 

28.6 

3.2 

29.0 

2.5 

40.6 

0.4 

39.6 

3.0 

46.0 

3.0 

49.0 

2.0 

51.5 

2.0 

9.6 

3.7 

9.2 

3.7 

9.8 

3.3 

15.3 

1.8 

15.0 

1.6 

40.0 

30.0 

25.0 

28.0 

22.0 

25.0 

20.0 

20.0 

30.0 

30.0 

23.0 

12.0 

12.0 

14.0 

62.  Ot 

10.  Ot 

24.  Of 

17.0 

13.0 

15.0 

15.0 

17.0 

12.0 

22.0 

37.0 

20.0 

14.3 

15.2 

23.7 

24.9 

15.3 


13. 
24. 

17. 


20.6 


22, 
23 
23 


7.0 

29.0 

37.6 

41.4 

40.0 

37.0 

40.5 

2.0 

2.4 

2.7 

.9 

1.6 


Total 
per  Cap- 
ita per 
Day, 
Gals. 


119, 

107, 

107, 

112, 

122, 

133 

135, 

134, 

143 

146 

54, 

42 

42, 

89 

175 

133 

181, 

44 

40, 

42, 

43 

50 

46 

56 

71 

108, 

48, 

53 

62, 

65 

54, 

54, 

64, 

44, 

48, 

50 

55, 

55, 

29' 
68, 
78, 
84. 
89. 
88. 
94. 
15. 
15. 
15. 
18. 
18. 


Kind 

of 
Supply, 


P'mpd 


P'mpd 
P'mpd 


P'mpd 


Gr  'vty 
P'mpd 


Per 
Cent. 

of 
Servi- 
ces 
Me- 
tered. 


P'mpd 
P'mpd 


Gr  'vty 
P'mpd 
Gr  'vtv 
P'mpd 


P'mpd 


P'mpd 


(Table  No.  12  continued  on  next  page.) 

4G 


Part  II:     Unaccoiintcd-For   Water. 


TABLE    NO.   \2.— Continued. 


Water  Taken  by  Con- 
sumers; Gallons  per 
Capita  per  Day. 


City. 


Eisenach 


Hannover . 


Rudolstadt 

Stralsund  .  , 
Breslau. .  .  . 


Year 


Darmstadt 


Gotha 


Magdeburg 


Mainz 


1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1898 

1899 

1896 

1889 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1900 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1900 


Manu- 
fac- 
turing. 


Do- 
mestic 


Total. 


6.7 

8.4 

8.3 

8.2 

9.5 

10.8 

16.9 

15.8 

9.9 

10.4 

12.9 

13.5 

14.0 

13.9 

13.9 

14.7 

14.7 

14.5 

il7.4 

11.2 

12.5 

14.6 

16.0 

14.5 

14.8 

15.2 

17.5 

18.8 

18.8 

8.2 

7.4 

6.1 

5.3 

6.6 

6.6 

5.3 

7.4 

8.4 


Water,  Water 
for       Not  Ac- 
Public;  counted 
Uses,  I       for, 
Gals.  I     Gals. 


6. 

19. 

19. 

20. 

20. 

18. 

19. 
7. 
8, 
9, 
9 

10 


2.0 
0.2 
0.3 
1.6 
2.5 
2.6 
2.4 
2.8 
2.6 
2.9 
2.8 
1.9 

0.7 
0.6 
0.5 
0.6 
0.5 
1.6 
1.6 
0.8 
0.4 
0.4 
2.8 
2.5 
2.1 
1.8 
2.4 
2.4 
1.2 
1.7 
2.1 
1.6 
1.5 
1.6 
1.8 
1.6 
1.2 


1.8 
1.7 
3.6 


1.5 
1.5 
1.1 


Total 
per  Cap- 
ita per 
Day, 
Gals. 


1.3 

1.4 

2.2 

2.9 

3.4 

4.2 

4.4 

6.9 

3.5 

3.7 

3.8 

5.0 

4.6 

4.6 

4.4 

3.9 

r.6 

1.7 

2.9 

3.2 

2.4 

3.1 

3.5 

2.0 

2.2 

2.2 

4.0 

14 

15 

14 

13 

14 

15.8 

24.3 

21.2 

14.3 

15.1 

21.4 

19.5 

20.3 

20.1 

21.7 

21.9 

22.2 

21.7 

23.2 


18.0 


13.5 

14.8 

1 

19 

17 

19 

20 


20.3 


3 
3.1 
2.7 
3.6 
3.6 
2.5 
2.6 
3.5 
2.3 
3.0 
2.8 
3.6 
4.6 
3.5 
3.8 


1.0 
0.6 
0.9 
0.8 
3.3 


21.4 
21.4 
15.0 
13.2 
11.3 

9.8 
12.7 
12.7 

9.0 
11.6 
14.0 
10 
23 
23 
25 
26 
23.0 
24.8 
10.3 
11.9 


12. 
12. 
17, 


Kind 

of 
Supply. 


Gr  'vty 


Per 
Cent. 

of 
Servi- 
ces 
Me- 
tered. 


P'm-Ddi 


P  'mpdi 


P  'mpdj 


P  'mpd 


II 

10 

9 

lO 

9 
14 

12 

i6 

29 
29 

32 
i8 

i8| 
19 
23 

2Ii 
21 
20 

17 

12 
II 

i6 
i6 

21 

13 
i6 

17 

lO 
lO 

25iGr  vty 

281 

28 
29 

30 
28 
26 
25 

22 

13  P'mpd 

II 

14 

17 

15 

i5j i 

9jP'mpd 

%v:::\ 

6| 


99 
99 
99 
99 
99 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 


{Table  No.   12  continued  on  next  page.) 
47 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


TABLE   NO.   \2.~Continued. 


City. 


Mannheim. 


Potsdam 


Quedlinburg 


Strassburg. . 


Weimar 


Worms 


Year 


1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1882 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1888 
1889 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1897 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 


Water  Taken  by  Con- 
sumers; Gallons  per 
Capita  per  Day. 


Manu- 
fac- 
turing. 


Do- 
mestic 


Total. 


12.2 
13.7 
12.3 
13.5 
14.2 
15.0 


16.4 

16.7 

16.7 

3.2 

13.6 

12.2 

14.2 

12.6 

10.0 

3.4 

3.8 

5.2 

5.3 

6.1 

5.3 

5.5 

5.7 

10. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

9.6 

9.9 

10.0 

12.5 


Water 

for 
Public 
Uses, 
Gals. 


3.3 

4.2 
3.8 
3.8 
4.0 
3.6 


3 
3 

2 

0 

1 

2 

2 

1 

1 

0.8 

0.8 

1.2 


0.8 
0.6 
0.7 
8.8 
6.8 
7.8 
9.0 
11.2 
1.4 


Water 

Not  Ac 

counted 

for, 

Gals 


2.7 

2.9 


2. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

2. 

2. 

3. 

0. 

1. 

2.8 

2.1 

0.9 

1.6 

0.6 

0.9 

1.0 

3.3 


2.0 
2.2 
2.4 
2.8 
2.7 
2.0 
3.2 
2.4 
3.5 


Total 
per  Cap- 
ita per 
Day, 
Gals. 


18.2 
20.6 
18.5 
19.8 
20.1 
20.8 
22.2 
22 
22 
4, 
17 
17 
18.5 
14.5 
12.7 
4.8 
5.5 
7.4 
10.0 
10.0 
7.4 
7.6 
8.2 
21.1 
19.0 
21.1 
23.7 
27.2 
13.7 
14.2 
15.0 
16.6 
16.9 
14.2 
14 
14 
21 
25 
27 


28.8 


Kind 

of 
Supply, 


ipd 


15 
14 
13 
13 

ID 
ID 

9 

12 

15 
19 

10 

i6 

II 

6 

121 

12  P'mpd 

16- 

14 

33 

27 

17 

20 
22 
lO 


P'mpd 


10 
lO 
lO 

10, 

20  P'mpd 
14 

21 

15 

21 

15 
17 

26 

II 

14 
8 

7 


Per 

Cent. 

of 

Servi- 
ces 
Me- 
tered. 


100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
010 
100 
100 
100 


Data  for  the  American  cities  taken  from  the  Annual  Reports  of  the  Water  Boards 
of  the  different  cities. 

Data  for  the  German  cities  from  Die  Staotischc  Wasserversorgung  in  Deutschen  Reiche 
sowie  in  Einigen  Nachbail:indcrn.      E.  Grahn,  1902. 

*  Figures  starred  (*)  are  estimates  by  J.  H.  F.,  based  on  data  given  in  reports,  in 
most  instances,  or  on  such  descriptions  of  conditions  and  uses  as  would  warrant  an  ap- 
proximate estimate. 

t  Figures  marked  with  a  dagger  refer  to  consumption  per  water  taker;  not  per  capita. 
Detailed  information  regarding  conditions  in  the  cities  quoted  will  be  found  in  description^ 
of  waste  reduction  methods  used  in  each,  given  in  Appendix  D. 


48 


Part  II:     Unaccounted-For   Water. 

In  practically  all  the  foreign  cities  quoted  in  this  table  allow- 
ances have  been  made  for  slip  of  pumps  and  under-registration  of 
meters.  Without  these  allowances  the  unaccounted-for  water  in 
Berlin,  for  instance,  would  have  been  from  20  to  25  per  cent, 
which  corresponds  pretty  closely  with  the  best  results  obtained  in 
this  country.  In  these  German  cities,  as  in  our  smaller  cities,  the 
difficulties  of  keeping  track  of  the  water  do  not  begin  to  compare 
with  those  to  be  expected  in  a  city  like  New  York.  With  these 
facts  in  mind  it  is  my  judgment  that  to  account  for  three-fourths 
of  the  water  would  represent  about  the  highest  limit  attainable  in 
New  York,  and  for  conditions  as  they  are  likely  to  exist  here, 
with  changes  of  administration,  withholding  of  appropriations, 
and  other  practical  questions  to  be  contended  with,  it  is  more  than 
likely  that  not  over  70  per  cent  could  be  accounted  for  year  after 
year,  even  with  complete  metering.  This  does  not  mean  that  30 
per  cent  of  the  water  would  be  wasted  or  lost  by  leakage;  but 
rather,  that  this  extra  quantity  of  water  would  have  to  be  fur- 
nished in  excess  of  that  which  the  consumers'  meters  would  ac- 
count for,  after  making  proper  allowances  for  all  the  water  used 
for  public  purposes,  to  balance  the  errors  and  losses  that  can  not 
be  prevented.    (See  Appendix  A.) 


49 


PART  III. 

NON-DOMESTIC   USES   OF    WATER. 

THE  water  used  for  manufacturing,  trades,  and  commercial 
purposes  in  New  York  is  largely  sold  by  meter,  over  half 
the  total  revenues  of  the  Department,  for  Manhattan  and  the 
Bronx,  being  derived  from  the  metered  water;  and  as  all  the 
metered  water  is  sold  at  the  uniform  rate  of  10  cents  per  100  cu. 
ft.,  the  revenues  of  the  Department  from  this  source  afford  data 
for  an  estimate  of  the  quantity  of  water  used  by  the  non- 
domestic  consumers. 

Commissioner  Dalton,  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Department 
of  Water  Supply  for  1898,  stated  that  in  that  year  the  35,442 
meters  in  use  in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  covered  practically 
every  place  where  water  was  used  to  any  considerable  extent  for 
other  than  domestic  purposes.  In  view  of  recent  statements  made 
by  the  Water  Registrar  it  is  estimated  that  there  may  be  at  the 
present  time  approximately  10,000  services,  other  than  domestic, 
upon  which  meters  should  yet  be  placed. 

Besides  the  water  sold  by  meter  at  the  docks  for  steamboat 
uses  there  is  a  considerable  amount  taken  by  tugs  at  the  water 
front  and  by  contractors,  for  building  purposes,  supplying  boilers, 
and  other  miscellaneous  uses,  which  is  not  metered,  and  in  recent 
years  has  provided  approximately  about  two-thirds  as  much  rev- 
enue as  the  metered  water  sold  for  shipping. 

There  is  no  way  by  which  the  quantity  thus  sold  can  be  esti- 
mated correctly,  but  even  if  calculated  at  regular  meter  rates  its 
amount  would  average  about  5  per  cent  of  the  total  metered  sup- 
ply. Undoubtedly  the  amount  actually  taken  for  these  purposes 
is  considerably  in  excess  of  this  estimate,  as  an  investigation  by 
W^ater  Registrar  Padden  in  March  of  the  present  year  brought 
to  light  that  tugs  holding  permits  to  take  water  from  the  hydrants 
along  the  River  front  at  a  stated  sum  per  year,  without  regard 
to  quantity,  had  abused  the  privilege  to  the  extent  of  taking  water 
at  one  hydrant,  selling  it  to  some  vessel,  and  then  watering  up 
again  at  some  other  hydrant.    This  has  been  stopped  by  assigning 

60 


Part  III:    Non-Domestic  Uses. 

certain  hydrants  at  which  certain  tugs  shall  get  their  supply  of 
water,  and  taking  other  official  steps  to  prevent  trafficking  at  the 
City's  expense.  How  much  water  has  been  stolen  in  this  way  can 
not  be  estimated;  but  when  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  fact 
that  there  had  been  discovered,  in  the  early  part  of  the  year,  many 
large  unmetered  buildings  in  the  downtown  section  and  that  it  is 
estimated  that  at  the  present  time  the  number  of  meters  actually 
in  use  should  be  increased  about  25  per  cent  to  cover  all  except 
domestic  services  it  is  plain  that  the  manufacturing  and  com- 
mercial uses  as  calculated  from  the  sales  of  metered  water  must  be 
too  small  by  a  considerable  percentage. 

If  these  10,000  properties  should  consume  water  at  the  same 
average  rate  as  those  fully  metered  the  correction  would  amount 
to  25  per  cent  of  the  reported  metered  consumption ;  this,  how- 
ever, would  be  too  large  an  allowance  as  the  premises  now 
metered  include  all  the  large  users,  whereas  those  still  requiring 
metering  are  mostly  relatively  small  consumers.  As  a  provisional 
figure  to  arrive  at  a  reasonable  estimate  of  the  total  use  of  water 
apart  from  that  required  for  domestic  and  public  purposes,  and 
which  would  be  classed  as  water  used  for  manufacturing,  trades, 
commercial,  building  and  shipping  purposes,  I  have  assumed  that 
the  extra  use  by  these  10,000  unmetered  consumers  would  amount 
to  about  10  per  cent  of  the  reported  metered  water ;  and  have 
therefore  increased  the  reported  metered  consumption  by  15  per 
cent,  10  per  cent  to  cover  the  buildings  not  metered  and  5  per  cent 
to  cover  the  water  taken  for  shipping,  building  and  special  uses 
now  paid  for  at  special  rates.  In  view  of  the  many  opportunities 
for  the  use  of  water  without  limit,  particularly  by  contractors  and 
others  under  yearly  permits,  and  of  a  probability  that  a  pretty 
large  amount  of  water  is  being  used  without  payment  therefor 
being  made  to  the  City,  the  allowances  above  stated  are  not  too 
large. 

On  this  basis,  the  estimated  amounts  of  water  used  per  capita 
of  the  total  population  in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  for  manu- 
facturing, commercial,  building,  trades  and  shipping  purposes,  in 
other  words,  all  the  water  used  except  that  taken  for  domestic  and 
public  purposes,  would  be  as  shown  in  Table  No.  13. 


51 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


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62 


Part   III:        Non-Domestic  Uses. 

It  has  been  impossible  to  obtain  confirmation  of  the  accuracy 
of  the  estimated  quantities  and  amounts,  relating  to  the  metered 
water,  from  the  office  of  the  Water  Registrar  in  time  to  incorpo- 
rate the  official  figures  in  the  foregoing  tabulation.  It  is  believed, 
however,  that  such  revision  as  might  be  necessary  would  not  alter 
the  figures  given  in  the  last  column  more  than  one  or  two  gallons 
per  capita  per  day  and  that  the  figures  as  given  are  sufficiently  ac- 
curate for  present  purposes  in  view  of  the  necessity,  in  any  event, 
of  estimating  the  amounts  of  the  unmetered  quantities  used  for 
non-domestic  purposes,  which  quantities  are  sold  under  yearly 
permits  or  special  arrangements. 


63 


PART  IV. 

WATER  REQUIRED  FOR  DOMESTIC  AND 
PUBLIC  USES. 

THE  actual  amount  of  water  required  for  domestic  consump- 
tion in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  varies,  between  wide  limits 
in  different  sections  of  the  City;  and  in  arriving  at  a  reasonable 
estimate  of  the  average  amount  necessary,  the  relative  percentages 
of  the  different  classes  of  consumers  must  be  considered  carefully. 

In  certain  completely  metered  New  England  cities  measure- 
ments have  been  kept  of  the  domestic  consumption  for  several 
years.  Of  these  cities  the  statistics  of  Fall  River  and  Lawrence 
are  both  frequently  quoted  as  indicating  a  proper  per  capita  allow- 
ance of  water  for  domestic  purposes.  These  data,  however,  are 
misleading  unless  it  is  understood  that  in  both  cities  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  population  is  housed  in  tenements  holding  several 
families  and  having  very  much  poorer  water  facilities  than  are  to 
be  found  in  average  tenement  districts  in  New  York.  The  aver- 
age domestic  consumption  of  the  two  cities  mentioned  is  about 
15  gallons  per  capita  per  day. 

In  Mr.  N.  S.  Hill's  tests,  in  1903,  of  the  consumption  of  water 
in  District  No.  2,  a  typical,  crowded,  East  Side  tenement  section 
having  a  resident  population  of  38,906  it  was  found  that  after  de- 
ducting the  plumbing  leakage  the  average  consumption  per  capita 
was  27.6  gallons  per  day.  In  a  tenement  district  with  a  population 
of  8,000  in  Brooklyn,  Mr.  De  Varona  found  an  average  daily  per 
capita  consumption  of  39  gallons  after  deducting  from  the  total 
consumption  the  measured  house  leakage  and  the  water  supplied 
through  meters,  or  42  gallons  per  day,  including  the  metered 
water. 

In  District  No.  5,  in  New  York,  which  had  a  population  of 
32,200,  and  represented  a  residential  apartment  house  district  in 
the  Bronx  the  average  consumption,  deducting  house  leakage,  was 
43.5  gallons  per  capita  per  day,  and  deducting  the  metered  con- 
sumption, al)out  41  gallons.  In  a  typical  upper  West  Side  apart- 
ment house  district  with  a  population  of  8,872  the  consumption 
averaged  from  140  to  170  gallons  per  capita  per  day  on  two  dif- 

54 


Part  IV :    Domestic  and  Public   Uses. 

ferent  tests.  In  District  No.  8,  which  included  the  Southern  end 
of  New  York  below  Fulton  street  the  consumption,  based  on  the 
resident  population  in  that  district,  was  860  gallons  per  capita 
daily,  and  based  on  the  total  population,  resident  and  day  com- 
bined, 83  gallons. 

A  provisional  estimate  of  the  amount  required  for  domestic 
use  can  be  approximated  by  the  aid  of  Mr.  Hills'  tests  which  in- 
cluded districts  covering  about  12  per  cent  of  the  area  of  Man- 
hattan Island.  The  total  amount  of  water  supplied  to  these  dis- 
tricts, excluding  District  No.  8,  which  is  in  the  downtown  office 
building  section  where  practically  all  the  consumption  is  metered, 
was  41,680,000  gallons  per  day.  The  total  amount  of  fixture  leak- 
age in  all  the  districts  was  about  6,100,000  gallons  per  day,  or 
approximately  15  per  cent  of  the  total  supply.  The  population 
resident  in  the  districts  tested  was  nearly  500,000  or  about  25  per 
cent  of  the  total  resident  population  of  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx. 


55 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


TABLE  NO.  14. 

THE    CONSUMPTION    OF   WATER    FOR    SEVERAL    YEARS    IN 

MANHATTAN    AND    THE    BRONX,    EXCLUSIVE    OF   THAT 

PORTION  OF  THE  BRONX  SUPPLIED  BY  YONKERS  AND 

THE  NEW  YORK  AND  WESTCHESTER  WATER  COM- 

PANY,t  HAS  BEEN  AS  FOLLOWS: 


Average 

Average 

Quantity 

Quantity 

Supplied 

Supplied 

Total 

Average 

from  the 

from  the 

Supply — 

Daily  Con- 

Year. 

Population. 

Croton  Water 

Bronx  and 

Million 

sumption 

Shed, 

Byram  Water 

Gallons 

per  capita, 

—Million 

Sheds— Million 

per  Day. 

Gallons. 

Gallons 

Gallons 

per  Day. 

per  Day. 

1894 

1,850,000 

163 

13 

176 

95 

1895 

1,869.000 

166 

14 

180 

96 

1896 

1,890,000 

186 

15 

201 

106 

1897 

1,910,000 

197 

15 

212 

111 

1898 

1,950,000 

207 

19 

226 

116 

1899 

2,000.000 

226 

20 

246 

123 

1900 

2,053,000 

249 

18 

267 

130 

1901* 

2,100,000 

256 

11 

267 

127 

1902 

2,160,000 

259 

18 

277 

128 

1903t 

2,220,000 

266 

18 

284 

128 

1904 

2,290,000 

290 

19 

309 

135 

*Nov.  27,  1901,  drafts  on  Byram  River,  amounting  to  7,000,000  gallons  per  day  dis- 
continued in  obedience  to  injunction  issued  by  U.  S.  Circuit  Court.  Deficit  made  up  by 
pumping  from  old  aqueduct,  which  began  in  1900,  at  the  rate  of  1,800,000  gallons  per  day, 
increasing  to  10,000,000  gallons  per  day  till  July,  1902.  This  rate  was  maintained  until 
October  15th  of  that  year,  when  a  48"  main  was  laid  to  connect  the  aqueduct  directly  with 
the  street  main,  since  which  time  the  central  and  southern  portions  of  the  Bronx  have 
been  supplied  with  the  same  average  amount  of  water  from  the  Croton  system  without 
pumping. 

tWorks  of  N.  Y.  and  Westchester  Water  Co.,  purchased  early  in  1903. 


Part  IV:    Domestic  and  Public   Uses. 

The  total  average  amount  of  water  supplied  to  Manhattan  and 
the  Bronx  in  1903  was  284,000,000  gallons  per  day ; 

Of  this,  25  per  cent,  or  71,000,000  gallons  could  not  be  account- 
ed for  under  the  best  obtain- 
able conditions. 
15    "       "        ''    43,000,000  gallons       would       represent 

leakage  from  fixtures,  cal- 
culated at  the  rate  found  in 
the  test  districts,  and  assum- 
ing the  same  average  condi- 
tions over  the  entire  city. 

5  gallons  per  capita,  or 

a  total  of 11,000,000  gallons   would   represent  the 

amount  used  in  public  build- 
ings and  for  other  public 
purposes. 

37  gallons  per  capita  or 

a  total  of   82,000,000  gallons  would  represent  the 

uses  for  manufacturing  and 
commercial  purposes. 

Total 217,000,000 

Total  supplied  to  City.  .  ..254,000,000  gallons. 
Leaving    for    the    purely 
domestic  use   of  the 

entire  City   67,000,000  gallons  or  30.2  gallons  per 

capita  per  day  if  all  leakage 
and  unnecessary  wastage 
could  be  stopped. 

I  believe  this  to  be  an  approximately  correct  estimate  of  the 
average  amount  of  water  actually  required  for  domestic  purposes 
in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  if  house  leakage  were  prevented. 
After  years  of  careful  investigation  and  study  of  the  problem  in 
Boston  Mr.  Dexter  Brackett  arrived  at  the  same  figure  as  a  rea- 
sonable allowance  for  average  conditions.  Of  course  there  will 
be  places  in  New  York  where  the  average  use  will  not  exceed  8  to 
10  gallons,  while  there  will  be  others  where  perhaps  as  much  as 

57 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

200  gallons  per  capita  will  be  used  and  will  be  cheerfully  paid  for 
if  sold  by  meter  measurement.  The  reasonableness  of  the  figure 
arrived  at  for  average  conditions,  even  though  a  large  proportion 
of  the  inhabitants  reside  in  apartments  and  tenements,  will  be  con- 
ceded when  it  is  remembered  that  perhaps  in  no  large  city  in  the 
world  is  the  proportion  of  fixtures  to  population  as  great  as  in 
New  York,  particularly  in  the  more  modern  buildings  which  have 
replaced  old  ones  at  a  rapid  rate  during  the  last  decade.  This  fact, 
in  my  judgment,  would  tend  to  make  the  average  conditions  for 
domestic  consumption  in  New  York  more  similar  to  those  in  Bos- 
ton, Cleveland,  Harrisbarg,  Milwaukee,  Syracuse  and  Wellesley 
than  to  those  in  Brockton,  Fall  River,  Lawrence,  Providence, 
Taunton,  and  Yonkers. 

In  view  of  such  facts  as  can  be  applied  to  local  conditions,  I 
therefore  regard  an  average  allowance  of  30  gallons  per  capita 
per  day  as  the  lowest  that  should  be  safely  estimated  for  domestic 
consumption  under  present  conditions  in  Manhattan  and  the 
Bronx,  with  all  house  leakage  stopped. 

No  complete  local  data  are  obtainable  as  to  all  the  water  used 
for  public  purposes,  such  as  schools,  public  buildings,  charitable 
institutions  receiving  free  water,  street  washing  and  sprinkling, 
sewer  flushing,  blowing  out  mains,  supplying  water  for  fires,  pub- 
lic comfort  stations,  parks,  public  fountains,  and  other  necessary 
and  legitimate  purposes.  The  uses  for  these  purposes  vary 
by  a  rather  large  percentage  in  diflferent  cities,  according 
to  the  character  of  the  city  and  the  extent  of  the  uses  for  dif- 
ferent purposes.  In  New  York  probably  all  the  water  devoted  to 
public  purposes  might  not  average  more  than  2  to  3  gallons  per 
capita  per  day  as  estimated  by  Mr.  Brackett  for  the  City  of  Bos- 
ton ;  but  in  view  of  the  variability  exhibited  in  dififerent  years  in 
different  cities  where  careful  estimates  have  been  made  of  the 
amounts  used  each  year,  such  as  in  Fall  River,  Wellesley,  Yonkers 
and  the  German  cities,  I  am  confident  that  an  average  allowance 
of  5  gallons  per  capita  per  day  will  be  about  as  close  an  estimate 
as  can  be  made  with  safety  from  the  available  data.  The  total 
amount  of  water  thus  used,  whether  it  be  2  gallons  or  5  gallons 
per  capita,  is  so  small  in  comparison  with  the  total  amount  sup- 
plied to  the  city  that  a  considerable  relative  error  in  the  allowance 
made  therefor  is  really  not  of  much  significance. 

68 


Part  IV:    Domestic  and  Public   Uses. 

The  large  amounts  used  for  public  purposes  in  Madison,  Wis., 
and  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  (see  Table  12)  are  due,  in  the  case  of  Mad- 
ison, to  the  enormous  quantities  used  for  sprinkling  macadam 
streets,  and  other  special  uses,  and  in  Syracuse,  largely  to  wastage 
through  public  watering  troughs  and  fountains. 


69 


PART  V. 
LEAKAGE  AND  WASTAGE. 

THE  controllable  leakage  and  wastage  in  New  York  City,  that 
is,  the  portion  which  can  be  effectively  controlled  in  a  rea- 
sonable length  of  time  so  as  to  permit  a  material  reduction  in  the 
amount  of  the  total  supply,  is  practically  limited  to  the  unmetered 
consumption ;  in  other  words,  to  the  domestic  consumption. 

The  amount  of  water  used  for  public  purposes,  for  fires,  street 
sprinkling,  sewer  flushing,  fountains,  public  buildings,  and  other 
public  uses  is,  from  the  best  data  obtainable,  and  from  a  compari- 
son with  the  amounts  actually  used  in  other  cities,  an  insignificant 
proportion  of  the  total  supply,  and,  as  previously  estimated,  prob- 
ably not  over  5  gallons  per  capita  per  day. 

It  is  not  possible  from  any  data  obtainable  from  large  cities  in 
the  United  States  to  separate  the  losses  due  to  leaks  in  the  mains 
and  service  pipes  from  the  other  unaccounted-for  waters.  The 
uncertainties  regarding  the  proper  allowances  for  under-registra- 
tion  of  meters  and  slip  of  pumps,  or  gauging  of  aqueduct  flows, 
make  any  estimate  of  these  amounts  liable  to  error  in  so  large  a 
proportion  of  the  total  amount  of  unaccounted-for  water  that  but 
Httle  confidence  could  be  placed  in  estimates  of  main  leakage  de- 
duced therefrom.  In  a  small  supply  estimates  of  this  nature  can 
and  have  been  made ;  such  estimates,  however,  would  not  apply  to 
conditions  in  a  .large  city  like  New  York  where  mains  are  likely  to 
break  in  some  part  of  the  City  almost  daily ;  and  where,  in  years 
past,  many  old,  leaky  mains  and  services  have  been  abandoned. 

While  there  is  undoubtedly  considerable  leakage  from  the 
mains  and  service  pipes  in  the  streets  there  is  every  indication  that 
the  amount  of  this  leakage  is  not  excessive,  or  larger  than  in  many 
smaller  cities  where  it  is  possible  to  look  after  such  defects  much 
more  readily  than  in  a  large  city  like  New  York.  Such  leakage  as 
exists  is  probably  scattered  over  the  entire  City  and  not  much  more 
prevalent  in  one  section  than  in  another ;  but  as  no  detailed  infor- 
mation is  available  on  this  point  and  as  none  of  value  could  be 
secured  short  of  many  years  of  systematic  and  costly  work  in  test- 
ing the  flow  in  the  mains  speculation  on  either  its  location  or  ex- 

co 


Part   V:    Leakage  and   Wastage. 

tent  would  be  useless.  The  fact  remains  that  even  if  it  exists 
the  multitudinous  places  that  would  first  have  to  be  found  and 
dug  up  before  the  leaks  could  be  stopped  would  keep  a  large 
and  expensive  force  of  inspectors  and  laborers  busy  for  many 
years  before  enough  leakage  could  be  stopped  to  materially  af- 
fect the  total  consumption  of  water  in  the  City.  (See  Appendix 
C.) 

It  remains,  therefore,  to  point  out  that,  as  previously  stated, 
the  only  leakage  and  wastage  that  can  be  quickly  controlled  is  that 
which  takes  place  within  the  buildings  in  the  City;  and  as  practi- 
cally all  business,  manufacturing,  and  trades  consumption  is  now 
metered,  there  is  left  for  consideration  only  the  wastage  by  domes- 
tic consumers. 

On  the  metered  consumption  the  only  improvement  to  be 
looked  for  will  be  in  the  direction  of  increased  revenues  if  meters 
are  looked  after  and  tested  more  frequently  than  has  been  the 
case  in  the  past,  and  the  securing  of  increased  numbers  of  me- 
tered consumers  by  the  discovery  of  unauthorized  or  unknown 
connections  with  the  mains  in  the  streets  or  with  metered  services 
back  of  the  meters.     (See  Appendix  B.) 

While,  manifestly,  the  amount  of  leakage  and  wastage  will  be 
different  each  year  and  can  not,  from  any  data  now  existing,  be 
determined  with  exactness  the  approximate  amount  thereof  in 
Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  can  be  deduced  within  reasonable  limits 
of  accuracy  for  several  years  past. 

An  estimate  of  the  average  amount  of  preventable  leakage  and 
wastage  in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  may  be  arrived  at  in  the 
manner  shown  in  Table  15,  in  which  the  figures  for  the  rate  of 
consumption  are  given  in  gallons  per  capita  per  day. 


61 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


TABLE  NO,  15, 


Distribution  of 
Supply. 

Year. 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1900 

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

Domestic    use    a- 
lone,  average.  . 

Public  uses,  aver- 
age   

30 
5 

25 

30 
5 

26 

30 
5 

28 

30 
5 

29 

30 
5 

29 

30 
5 

30 

30 
5 

32 

30 
5 

33 

30 
5 

36 

30 
5 

37 

30 

Office     buildings, 
c  o  m  m  e  r  cial, 
manufacturing, 
shipping,  build- 
ing, etc 

38 

Total  use 

Total  supply 

60 
95 

61 
96 

63 
106 

64 
111 

64 
116 

65 
123 

67 
130 

68 
127 

71 
128 

72 
128 

73 

135 

Difference  not  ac- 
counted for 

Percentage  of  to- 
tal  supply  not 
accounted  for. 

35 
37 

35 
36 

43 

40 

47 

42 

52 
45 

58 

47 

63 

48 

59 
46 

57 
44 

56 
43 

62 
46 

Per  cent. 

Average  percentage  of  total  supply  not  accounted  for  by  use  dur- 
ing whole  period 43 

Reasonable  percentage  of  unaccounted-for  water,  assuming  the 
City  to  have  been  completely  metered  for  several  years 25 

Probable  least  percentage  to  which  the  unaccounted-for  water  can 
be  reduced  before  new  supply  can  be  introduced,  even  with 
universal  metering  28 

Difference,   representing  the  percentage   of  the  total  supply  that 

may  probably  be  saved  by  stopping  all  house  leakage 15 


62 


Part   V:    Leakage  and   Wastage. 

The  placing  of  meters  alone  will  not  stop  all  the  leakage  in 
the  buildings ;  small  and  seemingly  inconsequent  leaks  will  al- 
ways be  more  or  less  prevalent  in  the  houses  in  a  city  as  large  as 
New  York,  and  even  though  this  leakage  will  be  evident  in  the 
water  bills  many  owners  will  prefer  to  pay  the  small  additional 
price  for  the  wasted  water  rather  than  spend  any  considerable 
sum  for  repair  work,  until  the  leaks  become  large  enough  to  make 
the  payments  actually  burdensome.  I  should  estimate,  as  a  re- 
sult of  general  observation,  that  complete  metering  would  per- 
manently control  in  New  York  an  average  of  all  but  one  or  two 
gallons  per  capita  of  house  leakage;  and  that  it  would  take  at 
least  five  years  of  active,  aggressive  work  in  the  placing  of  meters 
to  secure  this  result.  Even  at  this  rate  there  would  have  to  be 
placed  an  average  of  about  14,000  meters  per  year  to  secure  in 
five  years  all  the  benefits  possible. 

I  know  of  no  city  where  such  a  large  number  of  meters  has 
been  set  in  any  year,  about  4,000  being  the  record  to  date,  so  far 
as  I  know,  which  was  approached  in  Newark,  Hartford  and  Mil- 
waukee; there  is  no  reason,  however,  to  believe  it  impracticable 
to  set  14,000  per  year  with  a  large  organization  under  efficient 
management. 

If  the  placing  oi  meters  is  begun  in  the  tenement  and  apart- 
ment house  districts,  where  the  population  is  densest  and  the  pro- 
portionate leakage  per  person  greatest,  the  first  year's  work  will 
probably  result  in  stopping  about  35  per  cent,  the  second  year 
60  per  cent,  the  third  year  75  per  cent,  the  fourth  year  90  per 
cent,  and  the  fifth  year  all  the  controllable  house  leakage. 

These  figures  are  estimates  based  on  the  results  that  have  been 
obtained  in  other  cities  and  will  only  be  reached  by  an  aggressive 
campaign  coupled  with  inspections  of  each  district  metered,  and 
warnings  to  all  owners  that  plumbing  fixtures  must  be  put  in  re- 
pair immediately  and  before  the  meters  are  set.  The  results  ob- 
tained by  the  first  three  or  four  years'  work  will  not  be  of  per- 
manent benefit,  however,  unless  before  stopping,  the  meter  system 
be  extended  to  practically  all  consumers  and  the  further  policy 
be  adopted  of  metering  all  new  supplies  as  fast  as  connections  are 
made  with  the  city  mains.  Under  this  arrangement  the  question 
of  leakajg^e  and  wastage  will  have  been  settled  for  all  time. 

63 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

it  will  be  noted  that  no  mention  has  been  made  of  the  effect 
of  the  large  day  and  transient  population  on  the  domestic  con- 
sumption in  Manhattan. 

Nearly  half  a  million  people  resident  on  Long  Island  and  in 
suburban  towns  in  New  Jersey,  New  York  and  Connecticut  en- 
gaged in  various  commercial,  professional,  and  manufacturing 
pursuits  in  New  York  City  spend  their  day  hours  at  their  places 
of  business  and  return  to  their  homes  at  night.  This  large  popu- 
lation, howxver,  is  all  taken  care  of  in  the  metered  consumption 
at  the  present  time  as  all  places  not  residences  are  presumed  to 
be  metered.  For  this  reason  it  is  not  necessary  to  secure  detailed 
data  regarding  the  rate  of  increase  of  this  population,  or  the 
probable  increase  of  consumption  due  to  its  presence,  for  the 
purpose  of  estimating  the  amount  required  for  domestic  con- 
sumption alone. 


«4 


PART  VL 

ON  THE  AMOUNT  OF  WATER  THAT  MAY  BE  HAD 
FROM  THE  CROTON  WATERSHED. 

IT  is  very  essential  that  the  capacity  of  the  Croton  water-shed 
to  furnish  water  should  be  clearly  understood  in  order  that 
the  gravity  of  the  present  situation  may  be  fully  appreciated. 

The  natural  flow  of  the  Croton  R.iver  varies  from  day  to  day, 
the  greatest  monthly  flow  recorded  having  occurred  in  January, 
1874,  during  which  month  the  average  yield  of  the  river  at  the 
old  Croton  Dam  was  at  the  rate  of  1,585,000,000  gallons  per  day, 
while  the  least  average  monthly  flow,  only  about  10,000,000  gal- 
lons per  day,  occurred  during  September,  1881,  and  September, 
1883. 

In  every  year  there  are  months  of  heavy  flow  and  months  of 
very  low  flow.  This  variability  depends  not  so  much  on  the 
amount  of  rain  falling  during  the  year  as  by  the  way  in  which  it 
is  distributed  through  the  diflferent  seasons.  These  influences  are 
too  complex  for  precise  analysis.  Generally  speaking,  heavy  rains 
during  the  Spring  combined  with  an  early  disappearance  of  frost 
will  produce  well-sustained  summer  flows  even  though  the  sum- 
mer rains  be  much  below  the  average. 

From  Table  IG  it  will  be  seen  that  in  some  years  the  flow 
of  Croton  River  at  the  old  dam  has  been  nearly  100  per  cent 
greater  than  in  others  having  about  the  same  rain-fall. 


65 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


TABLE  NO.  J  6. 

FLOW   OF   CROTON   RIVER. 


Year. 

Inches   of   Rain    Falling 
on  the  Water  Shed 

During      the      Entire 
year. 

1874 

42.37 
42.70 
40.68 
40.74 
40.58 
43.87 
43.67 
50.33 
51.28 
55.70 
55.70 

1883     . 

1875 

1872 

1895 

1873 

1885 

1868 

1884 

1889 

1878 

Average  Natural  Flow  of  Croton 
River  for  entire  year.  Gal- 
lons per  Day. 


405,000,000 
215,000,000 
339,000,000 
272,000,000 
257,000,000 
404,000,000 
286,000,000 
536,000,000 
387,000,000 
506,000,000 
438,000,000 


Another  extreme  condition  is  exhibited  by  comparing  the  aver- 
age daily  flows  for  1874  and  1897. 

Year. 

Inches  of  rain  Falling 
on   the  Water  Shed 
During  the    Entire 
Year- 

Average  Natural  Flow  of  Croton 
River  for  Entire  Year.       Gal- 
lons per  Day. 

1874 

42.37 

53.12 

405,000,000 

1897 

413,000,000 

Thus,  in  1897,  with  25  per  cent  more  rain  than  in  1874  the 
average  flow  of  the  river  was  only  increased  2  per  cent. 

These  complex  conditions  from  which  no  precise  laws  can  be 
deduced,  since  they  depend  on  the  distribution  of  the  rain-fall,  on 
its  total  amount,  on  its  amount  at  times  when  the  ground  is  full 
of  water  from  previous  rains,  on  the  amount  of  water  taken  up  by 
vegetation,  on  the  prevailing  conditions  governing  evaporation, 
such  as  the  winds,  the  capacity  of  the  air  to  take  up  moisture,  etc., 
make  it  impossible  to  calculate  or  to  estimate  from  the  rain-fall 
records,  with  any  reasonable  degree  of  accuracy,  what  the  flow  of 
the  stream  has  been  in  the  past  or  is  going  to  be  at  any  particular 
time  in  the  future.  It  is  possible,  however,  from  the  actual  records 
of  the  flows  in  past  years,  to  state  with  considerable  accuracy 
what  probable  least  and  average  flows  are  likely  to  be  expected  in 
the  future  and  what  the  average  flow  has  been  for  about  38  years 
past. 


Part   VI:    Capacity  of  Croton   Water-Shed. 

When  storage  reservoirs  of  considerable  capacity  are  built  on 
a  stream  two  elements  are  introduced  which  modify  the  stream 
flow: 

First. — Evaporation  and  leakage  through  pervious  strata  under- 
lying the  reservoir  site  by  which  some  of  the  stream  flow  is 
positively  lost. 

Second. — When  stored  in  natural  reservoirs  the  water  slowly 
soaks  into  the  soil  surrounding  the  reservoir  and  continues 
to  do  so  until  an  impervious  stratum  is  reached. 

When  a  reservoir  where  conditions  are  favorable  for  such 
ground  storage  is  drawn  down,  therefore,  a  part  of  the  water 
which  has  soaked  into  the  soil  will  again  run  back  into  the  reser- 
voir, increasing  the  quantity  obtainable  beyond  that  which  was 
actually  visible  in  the  reservoir. 

These  two  influences,  therefore,  tend  to  operate  in  opposite 
directions,  one  to  decrease  the  yield  of  the  stream  and  the  other 
to  increase  it.  In  the  Croton  water-shed  the  opportunities  for 
ground  storage  are  not  favorable  and  the  net  result  of  storage  is 
to  decrease  natural  stream-flow  by  practically  the  amount  lost  by 
evaporation  and  leakage. 

The  larger  the  reservoir,  therefore,  that  is,  the  greater  the  rel- 
ative water  surface  exposed  to  the  air,  the  greater  the  evaporation 
and  the  greater  the  loss  of  water.  It  will  be  seen  therefore,  that 
if  a  reservoir  had  a  large  enough  exposed  surface,  and  no  water 
at  all  were  drawn  out,  it  might  be  possible  for  the  entire  flow  of 
the  streams  entering  it  to  be  lost  by  evaporation.  This  is  precisely 
the  condition  that  obtains  at  the  Dead  Sea,  the  Great  Salt  Lake, 
and  the  Oceans ;  evaporation  equals  rain-fall  and  there  is  neither 
a  gain  nor  a  loss  when  considering  a  long  series  of  years.  Of 
course  all  bodies  of  water  situated  thus  become  salty  in  the  course 
of  time. 

The  building  of  reservoirs  tends  to  conserve  for  future  use  the 
heavy  flows  due  to  spring  floods  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  very 
existence  of  these  reservoirs  tends  also  to  reduce  the  average  flow 
of  a  stream  in  an  amount  equal  to  the  evaporation  from  the  water 
surface  combined  with  what  is  lost  by  leakage  through  the  bot- 
toms of  the  reservoirs.     It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  there  is  a 

67 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

limit  beyond  which  it  is  not  possible  to  increase  the  average 
amount  of  water  that  can  be  drawn  from  a  stream  by  means  of 
storage  reservoirs.  This  limit,  for  the  Croton,  and  for  the  Sud- 
bury River,  which  forms  a  part  of  Boston's  water  supply,  is 
known  from  the  records  of  past  years  and  is  found  to  be,  in  both 
cases,  about  500,000,000  gallons  for  every  square  mile  of  the 
water-shed.  With  this  amount  of  storage  it  would  be  possible 
to  draw  from  the  Croton  River  year  after  year,  360,000,000  gal- 
lons per  day,  which  would  be  the  average  flow  of  the  River  as 
found  from  the  records  for  the  past  35  years  when  corrected  for 
evaporation  and  other  losses.  Manifestly,  no  more  than  this  could 
be  continuously  drawn  under  any  possible  conditions  and  there- 
fore 360,000,000  gallons  per  day  is  the  greatest  amount  of  water 
that  could  be  depended  upon,  from  the  Croton  River,  no  matter 
how  much  storage  were  provided. 

To  obtain  this  quantity,  the  storage  reservoirs  would  have 
to  hold  an  available  supply  of  about  175,000,000,000  gallons,  or 
nearly  enough  to  supply  the  draft  for  two  years  without  the  help 
of  stream  flow  and  more  than  double  the  amount  of  storage  now 
available ;  and  if  the  works  had  been  built  for  these  conditions  in 
1870,  and  this  rate  of  draft  had  been  maintained  continuously 
thereafter,  by  the  Fall  of  1884  the  reservoirs  would  have  been 
empty,  and  would  have  remained  so  until  the  Spring  of  1887, 
from  which  time  until  the  middle  of  1899  they  would  have  slowly 
filled  up  again. 

This  sets  the  limit  as  to  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  water 
that  can  be  had  from  the  Croton.  Now  as  to  the  greatest  amount 
that  it  is  practicable  to  draw. 

The  total  storage  capacity  of  the  present  reservoirs,  with  the 
proposed  Cross  River  reservoir  added  in,  and  including  the  water 
that  can  be  stored  in  Central  Park  and  Jerome  Park  reservoirs, 
special  ponds  not  owned  by  the  City,  but  from  which  water  can 
be  drawn  by  arrangement,  when  necessary,  and  by  using  flash- 
boards  on  the  Croton  dam,  is  about  82,000,000,000  gallons,  or 
about  half  the  total  storage  required  to  enable  the  water-shed  to 
yield  360,000,000  gallons  daily.  The  amount  of  storage  already 
provided  for,  as  above,  however,  is  sufficient  to  permit  an  average 
daily  draft  of  850,000   gallons   per   square  mile  of  water-shed, 

68 


Part  VI:    Capacity  pf  Croton  Water-Shed. 

or,  308,000,000  gallons  per  day,  according  to  the  experience  on 
the  Croton,  or  about  285,000,000  gallons  per  day  according  to  the 
experience  on  the  Sudbury;  in  round  numbers,  say,  300,000,000 
gallons  per  day. 

There  are  two  things  to  be  considered  in  storing  water  for  the 
use  of  a  city:  quantity  and  quality. 

The  limit  of  total  quantity  for  the  Croton  has  already  been 
pointed  out ;  the  limit  of  permissible  draft  is  governed  not  by  the 
ultimate  yield  of  the  water-shed,  but  by  the  effect  of  storage  on 
the  quality  of  the  water. 

Unlimited  storage  with  no  water  drawn  from  the  reservoir 
will  ultimately  produce  salt  water. 

A  storage  sufficient  to  enable  the  average  flow  of  the  stream 
to  be  taken  daily  from  the  reservoirs  will  ultimately,  in  artificial 
reservoirs,  produce  a  water  differing  in  no  essential  organic  con- 
stituents from  sewage. 

Such  a  reservoir  in  the  Croton  water-shed,  operated  as  de- 
scribed, would  permit  no  overflow  for  thirty  years;  and  during 
this  time  the  thousands  of  tons  of  organic  matter  which  would  be 
washed  into  it  from  the  surrounding  hills  would  decay, decompose, 
and  be  changed  into  complex  chemical  compounds  serving  as  food 
for  microscopic  and  minute  plant  forms  which  would  multiply  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  shortly  render  the  water  unfit  for  use  either 
for  drinking  or  for  steam  purposes. 

With  no  storage,  of  course,  only  the  daily  flow  of  the  stream 
could  be  depended  on,  which,  as  already  stated,  has  averaged  as 
low  as  10,000,000  gallons  per  day  and  as  high  as  1,585,000,000 
gallons  per  day  for  a  month  at  a  time. 

The  practicable  limit  of  storage  to  guard  against  undue  de- 
terioration of  the  water,  therefore,  lies  between  these  limits  and 
can  be  quite  definitely  fixed  by  the  experience  of  the  past  gained 
not  only  on  the  Croton  water-shed  but  on  others  in  neighboring 
States. 

It  has  been  found  that  whenever  the  storage  has  been  carried 
beyond  the  point  sufficient  to  permit  a  daily  draft  averaging  much 
over  750,000  gallons  per  square  mile  of  water-shed  the  water  is 

C9 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

likely  to  begin  to  show  signs  of  deterioration.  With  this  amount 
of  storage  the  reservoirs  are  likely  to  be  held  down  below  high 
water  mark  for  two  to  three  successive  years  at  a  time,  owing  to 
unfavorable  rain-fall  conditions,  and  in  this  time  sufficient  stagna- 
tion will  take  place,  coupled  with  the  growth  of  weeds,  pond- 
lilies,  rushes,  etc.,  in  the  shallow  portions  of  reservoirs,  to  pro- 
duce the  discoloration  of  the  water  and  the  growth  of  numerous 
small  forms  of  plant  life  which  by  their  decay  or  by  the  secretion 
of  minute  globules  of  vegetal  oils  give  rise  to  disagreeable  or  foul 
odors  and  nauseating  tastes.  A  yield  of  750,000  gallons  per  square 
mile  per  day  from  the  Croton  water-shed  would  correspond  with 
an  average  draft  of  270,000,000  gallons  per  day.  The  consump- 
tion by  the  city  is  now  over  300,000,000  gallons  per  day. 

Any  considerable  development  in  excess  of  this  limit  will  be 
at  the  risk  of  spoiling  the  water.  As  the  reservoirs  now  in  use, 
and  provided  for  in  the  future,  will  yield  about  20,000,000  gallons 
per  day  more  than  this  safe  limit  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  trouble 
may  even  now  be  expected  and  that  efforts  to  increase  the  storage 
in  the  Croton  basin  by  any  considerable  amount  in  order  to  avoid 
the  construction  of  the  new  Catskill  supply  should  on  this  score 
be  discountenanced. 

The  limit  given  for  the  ultimate  amount  possible  to  be  derived 
from  the  Croton  water-shed,  even  with  storage  reservoirs  twice 
as  large  as  are  now  in  existence,  360,000,000  gallons  per  day,  rep- 
resents the  largest  quantity  that  could  be  continuously  derived 
from  this  source  for  a  long  series  of  years.  During  the  present 
year,  if  the  rate  of  consumption  continues  to  increase  in  the  ratio 
that  has  prevailed  for  the  last  ten  years,  the  draft  will  be  within 
about  3  per  cent  of  this  limit  by  December,  1906.  In  the  Winter 
of  1895  and  1896  a  draft  15  per  cent  heavier  for  the  year  than 
was  actually  made  would  have  emptied  the  reservoirs.  In  1901 
an  increase  of  33  per  cent  would  have  emptied  the  reservoirs. 
The  rate  is  at  the  present  time  about  5  per  cent  above  what 
would  be  a  safe  limit  if  the  Cross  River  reservoir,  not  yet  under 
construction,  were  actually  in  service. 

Since  about  1901  the  rate  of  flow  of  the  Croton  river  has  been 
above  the  average ;  it  must  therefore  soon  fall  below,  and  when  it 
does  the  City  will  suffer ;  for  with  the  demand  above  and  the  sup- 

70 


Part  VI:    Capacity  qj  Croton  Water-Shed. 

ply  less  than  the  average  flow  of  the  river  there  can  be  but  one 
result — namely,  the  emptying  of  the  reservoirs. 

This  drop  will  probably  come  within  the  next  three  or  four 
years  if  the  behavior  of  the  river  as  regards  flow  does  not  change 
entirely  in  character.  There  have  been  four  such  cycles  since 
1870,  the  first  reaching  its  lowest  point  in  1872,  recovering  in 
1876 ;  the  second  reaching  its  lowest  point  in  1877,  recovering  in 
1879 ;  the  third  reaching  its  lowest  point  in  1885,  recovering  in 
1891,  and  the  fourth  reaching  its  lowest  point  in  1895  and  recover- 
ing in  1899.  There  is  no  way  by  which  to  tell  what  will  happen  in 
the  future  but  with  the  present  draft  so  near  the  average  flow 
of  the  river  it  is  alarming  to  think  what  would  result  if  a  year 
or  two  of  unfavorably  distributed  rain-fall  should  occur  before  the 
new  works  can  be  made  ready.  Unless  leakage  and  wastage  were 
under  control  it  would  mean  a  water  famine. 


71 


PART  VII. 
FUTURE  CONDITIONS. 

AT  the  present  time  it  is  probable  that  the  amount  of  water 
actually  used  for  domestic  purposes  in  Manhattan  and  the 
Bronx  averages  about  30  gallons  per  capita  per  day.  With  the  ex- 
tensive development  now  taking  place  in  the  Bronx  as  a  result  of 
rapid-transit  facilities,  and  the  erection  of  detached  dwellings  as 
well  as  of  moderate  and  high-class  apartments  almost  without  num- 
ber in  that  district^  combined  with  the  rebuilding  of  many  districts 
in  Harlem  which  have  heretofore  developed  slowly,  it  is  certain 
that  the  net  effect  of  these  changes  will  tend  toward  increasing  the 
per  capita  consumption  for  domestic  purposes,  for  the  reason  that 
the  better  the  classes  of  houses  the  greater  the  uses  of  water.  In 
order  to  take  this  into  account,  a  fact  which  has  been  observed  in 
all  American  cities,  I  have  assumed  that  in  1910  and  from  that 
time  forward  the  per  capita  consumption  will  average  about  35 
gallons  per  day  for  the  entire  City,  instead  of  30  gallons.  Simi- 
larly, with  regard  to  the  non-domestic  uses,  I  have  assumed  an  in- 
crease to  40  gallons  per  capita  by  1910,  with  a  continuance  of  that 
rate  for  subsequent  years.  In  the  premises  now  metered  are  in- 
cluded several  hotels,  apartment  houses  and  clubs,  as  well  as  a 
few  domestic  properties  of  the  better  class.  No  reduction  has 
been  made  for  these  uses  in  estimating  the  probable  amount  of 
water  used  for  non-domestic  purposes  for  the  reason  that  it  is 
confidently  believed  the  amount  of  water  now  stolen  from  the 
City,  and  which  should  be  paid  for  by  meter,  will  more  than  offset 
the  quantity  used  in  these  hotels,  apartment  houses  and  clubs. 

The  effect  of  these  assumptions,  which  I  consider  to  be  con- 
servative, when  viewed  by  past  experience  in  New  York,  and  by 
the  conditions  which  have  been  found  in  other  cities,  are  exhibited 
graphically  on  Diagram  No.  1. 

Upon  this  diagram  are  drawn  lines  representing  the  estimated 
amounts  of  water,  in  million  gallons  per  day,  used  for  different 
purposes  each  year  from  1894  to  1904  inclusive,  with  estimates, 
based  on  the  foregoing  assumptions,  for  these  same  uses  for  sev- 
eral years  in  the  future.    There  are  also  placed  upon  the  diagram 


y/a,  op/i  igei  ■  an  i  Jensens  A'il I 


~t  TrJf.  lan  a  a  vou.  if  n  ^<v/,  ea^r/  'uM  c  /?  'rpc  sa  ■  Jc,  a//^  -^sp  5/-  U  ^p^f^^eA^aj/ 


g     ^ 


^  §  i  I  I  M 


Part  VII:    Future  Conditions. 

horizontal  lines  showing  the  safe  yield  in  million  gallons  per  day 
of  the  water-sheds  from  which  New  York  now  receives  its  supply. 
The  amounts  represented  by  these  lines  have  been  carefully  de- 
duced as  already  described  from  the  data  obtained'  during  the 
past  40  years  from  the  Croton  water-shed  itself,  and  show  the 
amount  of  water  per  day  that  can  be  secured  in  a  very  dry  year. 

The  lines  representing  the  safe  yield  of  the  water-sheds  should 
be  observed  very  carefully.  They  are  based  on  the  actual  records 
of  the  measured  stream  flow,  making  all  allowances  for  evapora- 
tion, and  for  the  effect  of  the  reservoirs  in  holding  back  the  sur- 
plus water,  and  represent  the  conditions  on  the  Croton  water- 
shed with  as  great  accuracy  as  it  is  possible  to  attain.  They  do  not 
depend  upon  calculations  from  rain-fall,  or  on  comparisons  with 
other  water-sheds,  but  refer  precisely  to  the  conditions  that  have 
obtained  in  the  past  on  these  very  yielding  grounds. 

The  limit  set  for  the  Croton,  Bronx  and  Byram  combined,  up 
to  1902,  before  the  new  Cornell  dam  was  finished,  was  determined 
from  the  records  of  the  low  flows  in  1879  to  1883,  the  driest  period 
in  the  history  of  these  works.  The  accuracy  of  these  records  was 
tested  in  1901,  when  the  draft  by  the  City  equalled  the  safe  yield 
of  the  water-shed.  That  year  had  been  one  of  small  rain-fall  in 
the  spring  months,  with  the  result  that  the  supply  ran  short  and 
for  a  long  period  it  was  necessary  to  partially  close  the  valves 
and  reduce  the  pressure  all  over  the  City  in  order  to  pull  through. 
Again,  in  1901,  a  calamity  was  only  fortunately  averted  by  ex- 
ceedingly heavy  rains  in  the  Summer  and  Fall.  During  157  days, 
or  nearly  half  that  year,  the  City  was  obliged  to  draw  from  stor- 
age, the  stream  flow  being  insufficient  to  keep  up  the  draft,  with 
the  result  that  some  16,430,000,000  gallons  was  drawn  out  of  a 
total  capacity  of  some  44,000,000,000  gallons  in  all  the  reservoirs 
and  ponds  available  in  the  Croton  water-shed  at  that  time.  The 
total  rain-fall  during  that  year  was  about  ten  inches  greater  than 
the  average  for  the  forty-eight  previous  years,  yet  the  uneven 
distribution,  by  which  most  of  it  fell  during  the  Summer  instead 
of  in  the  Spring  and  Fall,  was  the  cause  of  the  depletion  of  the 
stream  flow.  An  inch  or  two  less  of  rain  in  the  Spring  of  that 
year  would  have  brought  about  a  repetition  of  the  conditions  of 
1891. 

73 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

On  the  diagram  referred  to  it  will  be  seen  that  in  1901  the 
amount  of  water  actually  drawn  from  the  Croton,  Bronx  and 
By  ram  water-sheds,  was  just  equal  to  the  amount  it  was  safe  to 
count  on ;  and  the  close  margin  by  which  a  calamity  was  averted 
that  year,  which  ought  to  be  fresh  in  the  minds  of  New  Yorkers, 
should  be  sufficient  warning  that  these  lines  showing  the  amount 
which  can  be  safely  counted  on  for  the  supply  of  the  City  arc 
placed  on  the  diagram  correctly. 

It  will  also  be  noted  that  at  the  present  time  the  draft  from 
the  combined  water  sheds  even  with  the  new  Cornell  dam  and  the 
proposed  Cross  River  dam  in  service  exceeds  the  safe  limit  of  per- 
missible draft ;  and  that  if  the  City  escapes  a  water  famine  in  any 
year  in  the  immediate  future,  unless  vigorous  and  elaborate  steps 
are  taken  immediately  to  stop  leakage  and  wastage  in  the  houses, 
it  will  be  a  blessing  which  we  have  now  no  right  nor  reason  to 
expect. 

The  condition  is  extremely  unsafe  and  hazardous. 

On  this  diagram  are  also  placed  two  dotted  lines  representing 
the  probable  amount  by  which  the  draft  on  the  water-shed  can 
be  reduced  by  stopping  leakage;  one  line  showing  the  probable 
best  effects  obtainable  by  house  to  house  inspections  repeated 
twice  a  year  with  the  infliction  of  penalties  on  those  who  neglect 
to  keep  their  plumbing  in  order,  and  the  other  showing  what  may 
be  expected  from  the  complete  metering  of  the  City  in  five  years ; 
a  bigger  task  in  this  direction  than  has  ever  been  attempted  else- 
where. 

An  appreciation  of  the  conditions  represented  by  this  diagram 
>vill  show  the  recklessness  of  attempts  to  defer  the  construction  of 
the  new  water  supply  works  now  planned.  Seven  years  is  a  short 
time  to  allow  for  the  completion  of  such  enormous  work's  as  these 
must  be,  and  by  seven  years,  with  the  most  exacting  and  faithful 
work  in  suppressing  leakage  and  wastage,  including  universal 
metering,  the  legitimate,  actual  needs  of  the  City  for  water  will 
not  have  been  pulled  down  below  the  safe  yield  of  the  water-sheds, 
including  the  extra  yield  due  to  all  the  additional  storage  that 
can  be  made  available  by  that  time  by  the  construction  of  the 
additional  Cross  River  and  Bronx  reservoirs. 

Under  no  conditions  would  it  be  possible  to  secure  continuous- 

74 


Part  VII:    Future   Conditions. 

ly  more  than  three  hundred  and  sixty  million  gallons  per  day  from 
the  Croton  water-shed;  and  to  be  able  to  secure  this  amount  it 
would  be  necessary  to  provide,  in  adition  to  the  storage  reservoirs 
now  in  use,  others  with  a  total  capacity  one  and  one-third  times 
greater  than  those  we  now  have,  including  the  new  Croton  Reser- 
voir. 

By  reference  to  the  diagram  again  it  will  be  seen  that: 

First. — In  about  three  years,  unless  wastage  is  stopped,  the  av- 
erage daily  draft  by  the  City  will  equal  the  total  amount  of 
water  it  would  be  possible  to  take  continuously  from  the  en- 
tire Croton  water-shed  if  every  drop  of  collectible  rain-fall 
wdr«  stored  in  reservoirs  two  and  one-third  times  as  big  as 
now  exist. 

Second. — That  for  the  next  nine  years,  with  the  greatest  amount 
of  reduction  in  wastage  and  leakage  that  can  be  secured  by 
the  metering  of  every  service  in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx, 
and  using  every  possible  effort  to  correct  leakage  in  the 
street  mains  and  service  pipes,  the  legitimate  demand  for 
water  in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  will  not  be  pulled  down 
below  the  safe  limits  of  the  present  supply  even  if  increased 
by  the  building  of  the  Cross  River  Reservoir  and  all  the 
other  emergency  storage  basins  that  can  be  constructed  dur- 
ing that  period. 

The  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  proposition  No.  i  is:  Do- 
mestic consumers  must  be  made  to  stop  leakage  and  wastage  from 
the  fixtures  on  their  premises  as  completely  and  as  quickly  as 
possible. 

The  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  proposition  No.  2  is:  The 
work  on  the  new  water  supply  from  the  Catskill  mountains  must 
be  started  immediately  and  be  pushed  to  completion  as  rapidly 
as  possible.  With  the  greatest  practicable  amount  of  leak  re- 
duction and  waste  reduction,  the  relief  afforded  will  not  justify 
the  postponement  of  the  building  of  these  works  one  day. 

A  third  conclusion  is :  Although  it  will  require  a  large  outlay 
annually  for  the  next  eight  or  ten  years  to  hold  this  wastage  and 
leakage  in  check  the  expense  can  not  be  avoided  and  provision 
should  be  made  fpr  it  at  once  so  that  a  system  of  inspection  can 

75 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

be  organized  and  put  into  immediate  effect  while  waiting  for  the 
settlement  of  the  question  of  the  final  control  of  wastage. 

The  judgment  of  the  present  administration  that  an  additional 
supply  is  necessary  immediately  and  that  a  quantity  not  less  than 
250,000,000  gallons  daily  should  be  provided  for  at  once,  with  the 
works  so  built  that  the  aqueducts  can  take  care  of  500,000,000 
gallons  daily  when  necessary,  is  therefore  sound  and  should  be 
supported.  While  there  may  be  differences  of  opinion  as  to 
whether  this  supply  should  be  first  secured  from  the  Catskill 
Mountains,  or  from  the  water-sheds  east  of  the  Hudson  River, 
or  from  the  Hudson  River  itself,  the  general  proposition  that  the 
increased  supply  is  immediately  necessary  is  beyond  argument. 

The  recommendations  of  the  Burr,  Hering,  Freeman  Commis- 
sion for  the  development  of  the  future  Water  Supply  of  New 
York,  contemplate  briefly  the  building  of  a  large  distributing 
reservoir  on  high  ground  near  Mount  Vernon,  from  which  a  new 
500,000,000  gallon  aqueduct  is  to  be  built  northward  to  a  point 
on  Fishkill  Creek,  about  5  miles  east  of  Fishkill,  where  it  is  to 
receive  the  waters  of  Fishkill  Creek  collected  in  a  large  storage 
reservoir.  From  this  point  a  branch  aqueduct  is  to  be  extended 
across  the  Hudson  River  to  the  Catskill  Mountains  to  secure  the 
250,000,000  gallons  per  day  that  can  be  had  from  the  proposed 
Ashokan  Reservoir  by  building  a  large  dam  on  Esopus  Creek  at 
Olive  Bridge. 

The  total  amount  of  water  provided  for  by  this  plan  is  310,- 
000,000  gallons  daily,  250,000,000  from  the  Catskills  and 
60,000,000  from  the  Fishkill.  When  this  supply  will  have  become 
insufficient  for  the  needs  of  the  City  it  is  proposed  that  Wap- 
pinger's  Creek  and  Jansens  Kill  in  Dutchess  and  Columbia  Coun- 
ties be  developed  by  the  building  of  storage  reservoirs  the  waters 
from  which  are  to  be  conveyed  to  the  500,000,000  gallon  aqueduct 
ending  at  Fishkill  Creek  and  thence  to  the  City.  The  full  develop- 
ment of  these  water-sheds  cast  of  the  Hudson  will  provide  about 
2G0,000,000  gallons  daily,  which  with  the  250,000,000  from  the 
Catskills  would  make  up  the  500,000,000  gallons  sought  as  the 
amount  required  for  such  time  in  the  future  as  it  seemed  neces- 
sary to  make  provision. 


Part   VII:    Future   Conditions. 

On  Diagram  No.  1  are  placed  lines  showing  the  effect  of  the 
building  of  these  different  works  on  the  total  supply  from  all 
sources  that  will  then  be  available. 

Table  17  (see  next  page)  has  been  prepared  from  this  diagram 
for  conveniently  comparing  the  conditions  which  will  exist  at  dif- 
ferent periods,  and  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  length  of  time 
in  the  future  provided  for  by  the  different  supplies  if  wastage  and 
leakage  are  not  stopped  as  compared  with  those  if  universal  me- 
tering is  adopted. 

The  Table  is  in  two  parts.  In  one  part  it  is  assumed  that  only 
Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  will  be  supplied  from  the  new  works ; 
in  the  other  it  is  assumed  that  the  extra  water  needed  in  the  future 
for  Brooklyn,  Queens  and  Richmond  will  also  be  supplied  from 
the  new  works. 

Considering,  first,  only  that  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  will  be 
supplied  from  the  new  works  it  will  be  seen  that  the  building  o-f 
the  Cross  River  reservoir  which  will  add  about  12,000,000  gallons 
daily  to  the  supply  will  not  help  matters  enough  to  keep  the  City 
out  of  danger  as  the  demand  for  water  at  the  present  time  exceeds 
the  safe  yield  of  the  water-shed  even  if  the  Cross  River  reservoir 
were  completed. 

It  will  also  be  seen  that  before  the  Fishkill  supply  can  be  made 
ready  the  demands  for  water  by  the  City  will  exceed  the  safe  yield 
of  the  Croton,  Bronx  and  Fishkill  combined,  whereas,  if  the  City 
is  metered,  to  control  leakage  and  wastage,  the  same  works  would 
take  care  of  the  consumption  for  about  13  years.  Under  this 
plan  it  is  presumed  that  the  Fishkill  waters  would  be  discharged 
into  Croton  Lake  without  waiting  to  build  the  large  aqueduct  to 
the  City. 

If  the  Fishkill  is  not  developed  at  present  but  the  aqueduct  is 
pushed  at  once  to  the  Catskills  the  amount  of  water  secured  would 
last  for  about  16  years  without  waste  reduction  and  about  30 
years  if  the  City  is  metered.  After  this,  if  the  Fishkill  were  de- 
veloped, the  provisions  would  be  sufficient  for  20  years  under  pres- 
ent conditions  and  36  years  with  universal  metering.  Then,  with 
the  final  full  development  of  ail  the  water-sheds  cast  of  the  Hud- 
son the  City  will  have  been  provided  for  until  1936,  under  pres- 
ent conditions,  or  1956,  with  universal  metering.    In  each  case  the 

77 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


% 


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78 


Part  VII:    Future  Conditions. 


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-• 

79 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

number  of  years  for  which  provision  would  be  made  as  stated 
above  date  from  the  present  year. 

If  the  extra  water  required  for  the  future  growth  of  Brook- 
lyn, Queens  and  Richmond  must  also  be  taken  from  the  same 
sources  the  practical  effect  would  be  to  shorten  the  time  for 
which  provision  would  be  made  by  from  4  to  9  years,  depending 
on  the  period  and  on  whether  wastage  and  leakage  are  checked. 

A  more  detailed  study  of  this  Table  will  suggest  several  im- 
portant conclusions  that  may  be  drawn,  one  of  which,  the  financial 
aspect  of  metering,  is  discussed  quite  fully  in  Part  IX  to  which 
attention  is  invited,  it  being  therein  shown  that  if  all  the  Boroughs 
are  provided  for  from  the  new  supply,  and  if  universal  metering 
be  adopted  as  soon  as  possible,  the  saving  in  cash  annual  mainten- 
ance charges,  on  the  second  installment  of  the  increased  supply, 
which  will  have  to  be  provided  and  in  use  by  1918  if  wastage  and 
leakage  are  not  checked,  will,  between  1918  and  1930,  amount 
to  a  sum  equal  to  one-half  the  cost  of  building  these  additional 
works  when  they  become  necessary,  or  two-thirds  the  cost  if  Man- 
hattan and  the  Bronx  only  are  supplied  from  the  new  works. 


80 


PART  VII I. 

PRACTICABLE  METHODS  OF  CONTROLLING  LEAK- 
AGE AND  WASTAGE  IN  NEW  YORK. 

IN  order  to  carry  the  City  safely  through  the  years  that  must 
elapse  before  an  additional  supply  of  water  can  be  had  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  stop  the  leakage  now  prevalent  all  over  the 
City  in  unmetered  buildings. 

As  the  City  has  not  at  the  present  time  the  right  to  meter 
domestic  consumers  inspections  and  penalties  must  be  depended 
upon  until  the  question  of  final  control  of  leakage  and  wastage 
can  be  settled.  It  will  certainly  take  a  year  to  secure  the  necessary 
authority  and  no  definite  results  can  be  expected  from  metering 
until  a  year  after  the  installation  of  meters  has  commenced.  It  is 
therefore  imperative  that  immediate  action  be  taken. 

The  Commissioner  of  Water  Supply,  Gas  and  Electricity,  and 
the  Chief  Engineer,  Mr.  I.  M.  De  Varona,  are  awake  to  the 
gravity  of  the  situation  and  have  already  asked  for  appropriations 
and  authority  to  put  a  system  of  inspection  in  force.  The  plan 
proposed  is  substantially  that  which  has  been  outlined,  viz.,  the  di- 
vision of  the  City  into  districts,  the  examination  of  the  flow  in 
the  street  mains  to  discover  leaks  and  locate  properties  where 
leakage  and  wastage  are  prevalent,  the  hunt  for  illicit  water-tak- 
ings and  the  infliction  of  penalties  on  premises  where  leakage  or 
wastage  are  discovered  on  second  inspection. 

This  movement  should  have  the  earnest  and  active  support  of 
every  householder,  owner  and  tenant  alike,  as  in  no  other  way  can 
immediate  relief  be  had  from  the  probability  of  a  water  famine. 

This  method  of  controlling  leakage  and  wastage,  however, 
must  be  understood  to  be  only  a  temporary  expedient  the  results 
of  which  will  be  lost  as  soon  as  discontinued  and  the  effectiveness 
of  which  will  not  compare  with  that  to  be  derived  from  the  placing 
of  meters  on  the  services  of  all  consumers.  The  total  cost  of  the 
inspection  system,  for  which  the  consumers  must  ultimately  pay, 
will  almost  reach  the  cost  of  maintaining  a  meter  system;  and 
with  meters  once  installed  there  is  no  danger  of  the  future  dis- 

81 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

continuance  of  their  use,  while  the  results  obtained  will  be  per- 
manent and  the  question  of  the  suppression  of  controllable  leak- 
age and  wastage  will  have  been  settled  for  all  time.  But  until 
authority  can  be  obtained  to  adopt  universal  metering  the  inspec- 
tions will  have  to  be  depended  upon  regardless  of  cost  or  perma- 
nent benefits. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  exactly  the  cost  of  such  a  system  of 
inspection  as  much  depends  upon  the  thoroughness  with  which  it 
is  done,  and  on  the  methods  employed.  In  some  sections  it  will 
be  more  expensive  than  in  others ;  and  the  City  is  so  large  and  the 
conditions  are  so  complex  that  the  cost  of  doing  the  work  can  only 
be  found  out  by  trying  it  on  a  large  scale. 

As  a  start,  I  estimate  that  for  effective  work  the  cost  for  the 
first  year  would  be  in  the  neighborhood  of  $200,000.  This  sum 
would  provide  a  fund  of  $50,000  for  purchasing  the  necessary  ap- 
paratus and  supplies  for  testing  the  mains  and  the  making  of  per- 
manent connections  through  which  the  mains  could  be  tested  in 
after  years  without  the  necessity  of  digging  up  the  streets.  The 
balance,  $150,000,  would  provide  a  staff  of  house-inspectors,  main 
inspectors  with  assistants,  laborers,  a  general  superintendent,  gen- 
eral foremen,  book-keepers,  clerks,  stenographers,  as  well  as  suffi- 
cient reserve  to  cover  the  cost  of  postage,  stationery,  hauling,  and 
car-fares.  For  this  outlay  I  believe  that  the  City  could  be  effi- 
ciently covered  once  a  year  for  street  main  inspections,  and  twice 
a  year  for  the  house  inspections.  In  subsequent  years  the  cost 
could  probably  be  reduced  to  about  $100_,000  per  year.  This  is 
at  a  considerably  smaller  rate  than  the  actual  cost  of  the  tests 
made  by  Mr.  Hill,  but  it  is  believed  that  with  careful  supervision, 
after  the  first  year's  test  of  the  mains  to  locate  the  most  serious 
leakage  and  most  extravagant  wastage  the  street  main  work  could 
be  very  much  reduced,  greatest  dependence  being  placed  on  the 
house-to-house  inspections  to  keep  plumbing  in  order;  and  the 
greater  experience  of  the  men  and  smaller  proportion  of  probable 
leakage  will  tend  toward  greater  efficiency  and  reduced  expense. 

If  the  street  main  work  is  omitted  entirely  an  appropriation 
of  $40,000  to  $50,000  per  year  should  be  sufficient  to  cover  the 
cost  of  the  house-to-house  inspections.  There  is  little  doubt,  how- 
ever, that  the  discovery  of  underground  leakage,  both  in  the 

82 


Part  VIII:    Practicable  Methods  of  Control. 

mains  and  service  pipes,  and  the  discovery  of  large  unknown  con- 
nections, which  can  only  be  detected  with  the  aid  of  the  street 
main  tests,  will  amply  repay  the  extra  cost  of  this  important  work. 

If  it  could  be  assured  that  the  necessary  appropriations  would 
be  forthcoming  each  year  for  the  systematic  carrying  on  of  this 
system  of  inspection  there  is  no  doubt  that  a  sufficient  amount  of 
wastage  could  be  controlled  to  carry  the  City  through  until  the 
completion  of  the  new  works  without  much  likelihood  of  more 
serious  drawbacks  than  possibly  the  throttling  of  the  supply  dur- 
ing one  or  two  seasons  if  the  stream  flow  should  be  much  below 
the  normal.  But,  owing  to  changes  of  administration,  which  must 
occur,  and  to  the  relief  from  the  scare  if  no  actual  shortage  occurs 
in  a  previous  year,  it  would  only  be  history  repeating  itself  if  the 
work  were  stopped;  and  then,  in  a  year  or  two,  matters  would 
again  be  in  as  bad  a  shape  as  before. 

On  Diagram  No.  1  it  will  be  noted  that  the  dotted  line  repre- 
senting what  I  should  consider  the  possible  reduction  of  the  con- 
sumption as  a  result  of  house-to-house  inspections  keeps,  after 
dropping  to  the  lowest  point,  about  parallel  with  the  curve  of 
total  necessary  use  up  to  the  time  the  new  works  will  be  ready 
(if  construction  is  started  as  soon  as  possible)  and  then  again 
rises  to  the  original  rate  of  consumption  prevailing  before  waste 
reduction  was  undertaken.  There  is  no  question  but  that  this 
would  be  the  result:  as  soon  as  the  additional  supply  becomes 
available  all  efforts  to  prevent  waste  will  cease,  if  dependent  upon 
inspections,  and  the  consumption  will  jump  up  again  to  figures 
that  would  have  been  reached  if  no  effort  had  been  made  to  check 
it.  This  has  happened  before  in  New  York;  it  has  happened  in 
Newark,  Boston,  Detroit,  and,  in  fact,  in  every  city  that  has  grap- 
pled with  this  question. 

Under  the  inspection  system  the  nine  years*  work  will  have 
represented  a  total  cost  in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  of  about 
$2,000,000  and  the  expenditure  will  have  been  merely  on  an  expe- 
dient to  pull  through  a  hard  time  which  when  passed  will  leave 
no  permanent  benefits  behind  to  show  for  the  work  done  and  the 
money  expended. 

So  much  opposition  is  generally  raised  when  the  meter  ques- 
tion is  agitated  that  it  may  be  well  to  answer  in  advance  the  argu- 
ments most  frequently  used  against  their  adoption. 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

FIRST  OBJECTION. 
The  undesirability  of  restricting  the  use  of  ivater. 

WATER  should  be  supplied  in  the  most  lavish  abundance 
and  instead  of  restricting  its  use,  every  inducement  should 
be  held  out  to  encourage  a  greater,  or  more  lavish  use  than  is 
now  prevalent ;  and  for  this  purpose  the  meter  is  the  most  effec- 
tive agent  we  have  to-day.  The  meter  is  not  used  to  restrict  use 
but  to  find  waste  and  leakage  the  stoppage  of  which  will  make 
available  for  use  the  large  amount  of  water  running  to  waste  to 
the  sewers  through  leaky  fixtures.  It  is  never  proposed  to  install 
meters  for  the  purpose  of  discouraging  the  use  of  water;  and, 
when  rates  are  properly  adjusted  metering  never  has  this  effect. 

In  Atlanta,  Ga. ;  Richmond,  Va. ;  Detroit,  Mich.;  Newark-, 
N.  J. ;  Asbury  Park  and  Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  metering  was  under- 
taken for  the  express  purpose  of  making  available  for  use  the 
water  which  had  been  previously  allowed  to  leak  away.  The 
results  were : 

Atlanta,  Ga. — The  limit  of  the  supply  had  been  reached  in 
1884.  Meters  were  rapidly  installed  on  all  services  and  it  was 
nine  years  later  before  the  total  amount  required  for  the  supply 
of  the  city  was  as  great  as  it  had  been  in  1884.  No  restrictions 
were  placed  on  the  use  of  water,  but  leakage  was  stopped;  the 
amount  of  water  used  per  capita  is  still  high,  about  twice  the 
amount  used  in  Fall  River,  Mass. 

Richmond,  Va. — The  consumption  of  water  per  capita  daily 
in  Richmond  is  about  as  great  to-day  as  that  in  New  York  City 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  nearly  all  the  manufacturing  and 
about  three-fourths  of  the  domestic  consumers  in  Richmond  are 
metered.  The  use  of  meters  has  not  very  materially  reduced  the 
amount  of  water  consumed  per  capita,  but  it  has  resulted  in  in- 
creased pressure  all  over  the  city,  giving  an  ample  supply  to  all 
those  in  the  high  level  districts  who  previously  frequently  could  get 
no  water.  In  other  words,  use  has  not  been  curtailed,  but  leakage 
has  been  stopped,  at  least  from  the  majority  of  fixtures  in  the 
residences.  There  is  still  considerable  waste  in  the  water  used 
for  public  purposes. 

84 


Part  VIII:    Practicable  Methods  of  Control. 

Atlantic  City. — In  1896  the  average  daily  consumption  was 
5,259,000  gallons.  Meters  were  placed  on  about  three-fourths  of 
the  services  during  the  next  two  years.  It  was  not  until  after  the 
lapse  of  nine  years  that  the  average  daily  consumption  reached 
the  amount  used  in  1896,  the  resident  population  having  increased 
50  per  cent  and  the  summer  population  not  having  changed  mate- 
rially during  this  period.  The  average  daily  use  per  capita  for 
the  three  summer  months  has  gradually  increased  from  35  to  58 
gallons,  thus  proving  no  restriction  of  use  but  control  of  leakage 
and  waste. 

Ashury  Park,  N.  J. — The  experience  at  Asbury  Park  has  been 
similar  to  that  at  Atlantic  City  except  that  being  a  much  smaller 
place  and  growing  at  a  rapid  rate  the  period  of  relief  from  water 
shortages  was  about  4  instead  of  9  years. 

Detroit,  Mich. — A  house-to-house  inspection  coupled  with  the 
placing  of  meters  on  premises  where  excessive  leakage  and  wast- 
age were  discovered  resulted  in  stopping  inside  leakages  in  such 
great  amounts  that  this  city,  which  had  in  the  meantime  increased 
in  population  from  188,000  to  269,000,  after  the  expiration  of  the 
9  years  used  no  more  water  for  its  total  supply  than  before  the 
stoppage  of  leakage  was  begun.  During  this  entire  period  not 
over  about  10  per  cent  of  the  services  in  the  city  were  metered, 
hence  the  reductions  were  accomplished  mainly  by  inspections 
and  therefore  the  increase  of  available  supply  consisted  solely  of 
the  water  saved  by  the  prevention  of  leakage  inside  the  buildings. 
This  is  the  precise  result  that  is  obtained  by  metering. 

Newark,  N.  J. — The  results  in  Newark  were  along  the  same 
lines  as  those  accomplished  in  Detroit,  but  the  campaign  was  only 
continued  for  two  years  and  the  proportionate  reduction  of  leak- 
age and  wastage  less. 

SECOND   OBJECTION. 

Alleged  injurious  effect  of  meters  on  public  health. 

HIS  objection  is  generally  made  the  most  of  by  owners  of 
property  who  fear  that  if  meters  are  installed  their  prop- 
erties will  be  saddled  with  liens  for  the  water  wasted  by  tenants, 
and  predictions  of  typhoid  fever  epidemics  and  all  sorts  of  disas- 


T 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

ters  are  used  as  arguments  to  compel  tenants  to  support  the 
owners  in  the  campaign  against  waste  reduction. 

The  death  rate  from  typhoid  fever  is  the  surest  indication  that 
can  be  had  of  the  purity  of  a  water  supply  so  far  as  its  ability  to 
transmit  water-borne  diseases  is  concerned.  Hence,  if  meters 
have  any  connection  with  the  prevalence  of  typhoid  fever  their 
effect  should  show  in  the  death  rate  of  the  cities  using  them  ex- 
tensively. Viewed  in  this  light  the  statistics  given  in  Tables  18 
and  19  are  pertinent. 


TABLE  NO.  J  8. 

TABLE  SHOWING  TYPHOID  FEVER  DEATH  RATE  PER  100,000 
FOR  SEVERAL  YEARS  IN  CITIES  WHERE  A  LARGE  PER- 
CENTAGE OF  THE  SUPPLY  IS  SOLD  BY  METER. 


Year. 

City. 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

Atlanta 

Fall  River.  . 
Lawrence . .  . 

Lowell 

Milwaukee.  . 
Providence. . 

Berlin 

Breslau 

Munich 

Typhoid  death  rate 

%  of  services  metered 

Typhoid  death  rate 

%  of  services  metered 

Typhoid  death  rate 

%  of  services  metered 

Typhoid  death  rate 

%  of  services  metered 

Typhoid  death  rate 

%  of  services  metered 

Typhoid  death  rate 

%  of  services  metered 

Typhoid  death  rate 

%  of  services  metered 

Typhoid  death  rate 

%  of  services  metered 

Typhoid  death  rate 

%  of  services  metered 

149 

100 

62 

75 

123 

29 

82 

22 

33 

33 

29 

62 

9 

87 

15 

77 

8 

90 

119 
100 

76 
115 
34 
96 
24 
33 
40 
47 
63 
10 
88 
12 
77 
7 
92 

87 
100 
38 
77 
95 
39 
90 
26 
31 
43 
36 
65 
8 
88 
15 
74 

3 
93 

66 
100 
20 
78 
69 
45 
62 
28 
37 
48 
34 
69 
9 
86 
10 
75 

15 
94 

43 
100 
29 
80 
48 
50 
60 
30 
26 
51 
49 
72 

4 
86 

6 

75 

2.5 

95 

a 

3 
S 
3 
3 
2 
5 
3 
7 

3 
2 
1 
6 
9 
3 
5 
4 

1 
5 

86 


Part  VIII:    Practicable  Methods  of  Control. 


TABLE  NO.  i9. 

TABLE  SHOWING  TYPHOID  FEVER  DEATH  RATE  PER  100,000 

FOR  SEVERAL  YEARS  IN  CITIES  WHERE  BUT  A  SMALL 

PERCENTAGE  OF  THE  SUPPLY  IS  SOLD  BY  METER, 


City. 

• 

Year. 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

Brooklyn.  .  .  . 

Chicago 

New  York...  . 
Philadelphia  . 

St.  Louis 

Edinburgh.  .  . 

Glasgow 

Hamburg. .  .  . 
London 

Typhoid  death  rate 

M                                      U                       U 

U                                   11                      u 

21 
83 

21 
64 
34 
19 
26 
28 
16 

21 
160 
22 
64 
30 
18 
31 
23 
15 

18 
103 
14 
34 
37 
13 
18 
34 
11 

18 
42 
21 
41 
103 
14 
20 
18 
16 

16 
31 
17 
32 
31 
15 
24 
6 
15 

16 
32 
17 

i9 

From  the  above  tabulations  it  will  be  seen  that  water  meters 
have  no  effect,  either  for  good  or  for  bad,  on  typhoid  fever  death 
rates  in  cities.  Some  unmetered  cities  have  death  rates  as  high  or 
higher  than  metered  cities. 

In  Lawrence,  with  the  increase  of  meters  the  death  rate  stead- 
ily dropped ;  in  Atlanta,  with  all  services  metered  throughout  the 
whole  period  the  rate  also  steadily  dropped.  The  rate  in  Brooklyn 
with  practically  no  meters  is  less  than  in  Atlanta  where  all  services 
are  metered ;  the  rate  in  Fall  River,  practically  all  metered,  is  less 
than  in  Chicago  and  Philadelphia,  which  are  practically  without 
meters.  In  other  words,  meters  have  no  effect  whatever  one  way 
or  the  other  on  the  typhoid  fever  death  rate  of  a  city. 

The  same  is  tnie  regarding  the  death  rates  from  all  other  dis- 
eases and  regarding  the  total  deaths  from  all  causes.  There  is  no 
traceable  connection  whatever  between  metering  and  public  health 
to  be  found  in  the  records  of  any  city  in  the  world. 

It  is  sometimes  stated  that  the  use  of  meters  will  restrict  the 
proper  and  lavish  consumption  of  water  and  that  this  will  have  a 
tendency  to  lower  the  general  health  tone  of  the  people  even  if  it 
does  not  actually  cause  deaths. 

Such  a  statement  is  all  theory  with  no  facts  to  back  it  up. 
Assuming,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that  the  use  of  meters 

87 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

would  actually  restrict  the  use  of  water,  that  many  people  would 
have  to  be  satisfied  with  much  less  water  than  they  now  use,  a 
condition  which  distinctly  would  not  result  if  meter  rates  were 
properly  adjusted,  there  is  no  support  for  the  theory  advanced 
that  the  general  health  tone  of  the  community  would  be  lowered. 

In  Berlin  the  total  amount  of  water  supplied  for  all  purposes 
is  about  18  gallons  per  capita  per  day,  while  in  New  York  the 
average  daily  supply  is  about  135  gallons,  or  over  7  times  as  much ; 
yet  the  general  health  tone  of  Berlin  is  better  than  that  of  New 
York  in  practically  every  particular.  The  typhoid  fever  mor- 
tality in  New  York  averages  from  three  to  four  times  as  high  as 
in  Berlin  and  the  total  death  rate  from  all  causes  about  20  per 
cent,  higher.  Berlin  is  completely  metered  and  has  a  very  small 
per  capita  supply  of  water,  while  in  New  York  scarcely  any  do- 
mestic consumers  are  metered  and  the  per  capita  supply  of  water 
is  about  7  times  as  great.  Similar  comparisons  could  be  made  for 
other  cities. 

THIRD    OBJECTION. 

The  allegation  that  the  installation  of  meters  will  lead  to  re- 
duced receipts  from  the  sale  of  zvater  thus  causing  a  deficit  in  the 
revenues'  and  hence  making  an  increased  tax  levy  necessary. 

THIS  is  purely  a  matter  of  business  administration.  A  certain 
amount  of  money  must  be  raised  each  year  to  pay  the  oper- 
ating expenses  of  the  Water  Department,  regardless  of  whether 
the  water  is  sold  by  frontage  rates  or  meter  measurement,  and  can 
be  taken  care  of  by  proper  adjustment  of  meter  rates. 

Where  these  rates  have  been  properly  fixed  no  deficit  is  possible 
and  therefore  no  increased  taxation  will  be  necessary. 

The  only  city  of  which  I  have  knowledge  where  it  has  been 
necessary  to  make  appropriations  to  cover  the  loss  of  revenue  re- 
sulting from  metering  is  Milwaukee.  During  the  last  two  or  three 
years  this  has  been  necessary  in  that  city  owing  to  the  fact  that  a 
uniform  rate  of  6  cents  per  thousand  gallons  was  made  for  all 
metered  water,  manufacturing  and  domestic,  regardless  of  quan- 
tity, with  no  minimum  rate  except  a  charge  of  $1.00  per  year  for 


Part  VIII:    Practicable  Methods  of  Control. 

reading  the  meter.  Under  this  rate  a  surprisingly  large  number  of 
consumers  paid  less  than  $3.00  per  year  for  their  water,  and  a 
great  many  less  than  $2.00,  and  the  revenues  fell  below  the  ex- 
penses. Even  this,  however,  worked  no  hardship  as  the  small 
appropriation  to  cover  the  deficit  was  no  more  than  would  have 
come  out  of  the  consumers  if  paying  on  frontage  rates,  or  meter 
rates  adjusted  to  produce  the  necessary  revenue. 

In  cities  where  the  entire  supply  is  pumped  the  saving  in  cost 
of  fuel  resulting  from  stopping  leakage  and  wastage  frequently 
will  amount  in  one  year  to  more  than  the  cost  of  the  meters  and 
their  installation.  In  New  York  (Manhattan  and  the  Bronx) 
although  a  considerable  amount  of  the  supply  must  be  pumped 
to  the  high  level  districts,  this  has  not  been  considered  in  the  cal- 
culation showing  the  benefits  from  metering  as  given  in  Part  IX. 

In  the  matter  of  the  adjustment  of  rates  it  would  seem,  should 
it  be  desirable  and  possible  to  put  the  City  on  a  meter  basis,  that 
a  combination  of  frontage  and  meter  rates  would  be  the  most 
equitable  system.  A  certain  amount  of  water  must  be  supplied 
to  the  City  in  excess  of  that  for  which  the  meters  will  account 
and  this  water  and  that  used  for  fires,  street  sprinkling,  sewer 
flushing,  etc.,  form  together  a  portion  of  the  supply  from  which 
no  direct  revenue  can  be  collected  in  an  equitable  manner  by  meter 
rates.  Yet  it  is  impossible  to  dispense  with  this  water,  and  as  all 
property  as  related  to  that  portion  used  for  public  purposes  is 
benefited  directly  and,  as  related  to  fire  insurance  rates,  indirectly, 
it  would  seem  more  equitable  to  provide  by  frontage  rates  revenue 
sufficient  to  cover  its  cost  and  charge  by  meter  rates  only  for 
water  consumed  by  actual  use.  It  would  also  seem  advisable  in 
New  York,  in  view  of  the  large  amount  of  water  used  for  manu- 
facturing, business  and  commercial  purposes,  to  have  a  sliding 
scale  of  charges  for  metered  consumers,  giving  the  large  con- 
sumers a  lower  rate  than  the  small  consumers  and  establishing  a 
minimum  rate  to  make  it  possible  to  maintain  the  system  in  good 
condition  financially.  For  this  minimum  rate  the  consumer  should 
be  entitled  to  the  use  of  a  certain  quantity  of  water,  the  amount 
of  which,  as  well  as  the  rates  of  charges,  to  be  determined  after 
investigation.  For  amounts  used  in  excess  of  the  stated  quantity 
meter  rates  should  be  paid. 

89 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


FOURTH  OBJECTION, 

The  fear  that  the  adoption  of  meters  would  put  the  city  in  the 
grip  of  the  meter  trust. 

THIS  objection  to  meters  is  a  new  one,  originating  in  a  reso- 
lution adopted  March  15th,  1906,  by  the  Philadelphia  City 
Councils.  There  are  now  in  use,  in  New  York  City,  about  40,000 
meters  of  well-known  standard  types,  each  of  which  has  been 
tried  and  tested  by  actual  use  for  many  years  and  has  been  found 
satisfactory  by  the  Department  of  Water  Supply.  Under  competi- 
tive bidding  the  City  would  receive  independent  proposals  from 
the  makers  of  practically  all  the  types  of  meters  now  in  use.  The 
Meter  Trust,  if  there  is  one,  would  have  pretty  lively  competition 
to  get  the  contracts  and  the  City  would  get  the  benefit. 

In  any  arrangement  under  which  meters  would  be  used  in 
New  York  City,  the  City  should  purchase,  own,  set,  inspect,  re- 
pair, test  and  reset  every  meter,  and  should  provide  for  purchas- 
ing at  a  fair  price  all  meters  now  in  use.  In  no  other  way  can 
proper  supervision  be  had  over  the  meters  and  accounts.  In  no 
other  way  will  it  be  just  to  the  consumers  if  universal  metering  is 
adopted. 

The  meters  should  be  bought  under  competitive  bidding  gov- 
erned by  rigid  specifications  carefully  prepared  by  the  City,  in  the 
same  manner  as  other  machinery  or  supplies,  requiring  the  meters 
to  fulfil  certain  prescribed  tests  as  to  accuracy,  durability,  relia- 
bility, back  registering,  choking,  hot  water  tests,  etc.,  according 
to  the  requirements  for  the  different  purposes  for  which  they  will 
be  used. 

The  City  should  have  a  modern  and  well-equipped  repair  shop 
where  a  stock  of  meters  and  parts  can  always  be  kept  on  hand  and 
where  meters  may  be  taken  periodically  for  testing. 

The  meter  rates  should  then  be  adjusted  at  such  figures  that 
in  paying  for  the  water  used  the  cost  of  the  meter,  and  the  cost 
of  setting  it,  including  the  cost  of  repairs,  testing  and  renewals, 
would  be  distributed  over  a  period  corresponding  to  the  life  of  the 
meters,  say  some  20  years. 

90 


PART  IX. 

THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  METERS  IN  NEW  YORK  AS 
A  BUSINESS  PROPOSITION. 

AT  the  present  time  practically  all  the  large  consumers  in 
Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  have  been  metered,  so  that  in 
extending  the  system  to  all  water  takers  very  few  large  meters 
will  be  required  for  several  years. 

It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  forecast  how  many  meters  of 
each  size  will  be  required  in  any  year,  and  as  the  prices  of  meters 
vary  from  about  $6.50  for  a  ^-inch,  to  about  $400  for  a  6-inch 
meter,  there  is  a  possibility  of  wide  divergence  between  two  inde- 
pendent estimates. 

In  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  owing  to  the  absence  of  curb 
stop  cocks,  and  to  the  quick  removal  of  snow  during  the  Winter, 
the  placing  of  all  meters  outside  the  buildings  in  special  settings 
would  be  so  expensive  as  to  be  almost  prohibitive,  necessitating 
the  digging  up  of  all  the  services,  placing  cocks  therein  and  build- 
ing double-covered,  frost-proof  vaults  or  settings.  I  have  there- 
fore assumed  that  all  meters  will  be  set  in  basements,  the  larger 
sizes  in  wooden  boxes  for  protection.  As  a  basis  for  this  estimate 
I  have  assumed  that  of  the  required  total  number. 


75  per  cent  would  be    ^-inch  meters 


15 

6 
2 


H 

1 

1/2 


3       and  larger 


and  have  estimated  the  cost  of  these  sizes  and  the  cost  of  setting 
as  shown  in  Table  20. 


91 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

TABLE  NO.  20. 

COST   OF   METERS   AND    SETTING. 


Size. 


Cost  of 
Meters. 


Cost  of  Setting, 

Including  Materials 

and  Labor. 


Total  Cost. 


i  inch 

1  "     

n  "  

2  "     

Average    3-inch   and   larger. 


$6.50 
16.00 
27.00 
37.00 
45.00 
90.00 


$4.00 
6.00 
8.00 
10.00 
12.00 
13.00 


$10.50 
22.00 
35.00 
47.00 
57.00 

103.00 


On  the  basis  of  the  percentages  of  the  different  sizes  estimated 
to  be  required  the  average  cost,  at  the  above  prices,  would  be  $15 
per  meter  in  place.  This  figure  is  probably  as  close  as  can  be 
arrived  at  without  a  greater  amount  of  labor  than  the  available 
time  will  allow.  Probably,  in  view  of  the  great  number  of  meters 
required  and  the  large,  well-organized  force  necessary  to  place 
them  in  a  short  enough  time  to  quickly  derive  full  benefit  from 
their  use  the  prices  adopted  may  be  somewhat  higher  than  neces- 
sary. A  measure  of  reliability  is  given  to  the  average  cost  thus 
derived  by  comparison  with  the  actual  average  costs  of  the  meters 
in  use  in  other  cities,  of  which  the  following  are  a  few  examples. 


TABLE  NO.  2i. 

AVERAGE  COST  OF  METERS  IN  USE. 


Average  Cost  of  all 

City. 

Meters  in  Use,  In- 
cluding all  Sizes. 

Remarks. 

Atlanta,  Ga 

$12.15 
15.19 

Atlantic  City,  N.  J.  .  . 

Cleveland,  0 

18.25 

Mostly  outside  settings,  many 
in  brick  vaults. 

Detroit,  Mich 

29.00 

Practically  all  on  non-do- 
mestic consumers. 

Harrisburg,  Pa 

13.50 

Hartford,  Conn 

19.20 

All  ^-inch  meters  and  larger. 

Madison,  Wis 

15.71 

Providence,  R.I 

16.50 

The  annual  expense  of  metering  would  be  made  up  of  the  in- 
terest on  the  cost  of  the  meters,  a  depreciation  charge  sufficient  to 


92 


Part  IX:    Meters  as  a  Business  Proposition. 

pay  for  the  meter  in  about  20  years  (its  assumed  life),  the  cost  of 
inspection,  repairs,  renewals  of  parts  and  testing,  and  the  cost  of 
reading  the  meters,  delivering  bills,  etc. 

The  cost  of  repairs  and  renewals  varies  from  1  per  cent,  to  6 
per  cent,  of  the  value  of  the  meters  in  use,  according  to  the  local 
conditions  in  different  cities. 

TABLE  NO.  22. 

ANNUAL   COST   OF  REPAIRS,  ETC 


City. 


Annual  Cost  of  Repairs,  Renewals,  Testing,  and  Main- 
tenance for  Several  Years ;    Per  Cent,  of 
Cost  of  Meters  in  Use. 


Atlanta. . .  . 
Cleveland .  . 
Fall  River. 
Harrisburg. 
Hartford .  .  , 
Providence . 


About  4  to  5  per  cent. 
"      2^           "        " 
"       li           "        « 
"       1 

"       1  to  6     "         "      average  about  3  per  cent. 
"2  "        " 


I  have  assumed  for  New  York  conditions,  owing  to  the  prob- 
ability that  some  of  the  meters  in  exposed  places  may  freeze  and 
break  during  very  cold  weather,  an  allowance  of  3/^  per  cent,  of 
the  value  of  the  meters  in  use  to  cover  this  item. 

The  cost  of  reading  the  meters,  sending  out  bills,  etc.,  will 
depend  on  the  organization  of  the  force  and  the  frequency  with 
which  the  meters  are  read.  Assuming  quarterly  readings  an  in- 
spector should  be  able  to  take  care  of  about  1,500  meters  at  a 
cost  for  labor,  clerical  work  and  delivering  bills  of  about  $1,000 
per  year,  or  say  66  cents  per  meter  per  year.  This  would  make 
the  total  annual  cost  per  meter  per  year  as  follows : 

Interest  on  cost  of  meter,  $15.00  at  3% $   .45 

Depreciation,  Hfe  20  years 75 

Maintenance,     renewals,     testing,     repairs,     etc., 

$15.00   at   316% 50 

Reading  meters,  sending  out  bills,  etc 66 

Total  cost  per  year  per  meter $2.36 


93 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

This  figure  includes  the  cost  of  the  meters  spread  over  20 
years  and  the  yearly  interest  on  the  cost  of  the  meter  in  place, 
so  that  if  provided  for  out  of  a  bond  issue  the  cost  given  per 
meter  will  take  care  of  the  retirement  of  the  bonds  at  maturity. 

The  direct  value  of  meters  for  New  York  conditions  can  be 
found  by  calculating  the  saving  resulting  from  their  use  in  mak- 
ing it  possible  to  defer  the  date  of  constructing  the  second  install- 
ment of  the  additional  works  after  the  first  installment  of  the 
proposed  Catskill  supply  shall  have  been  completed. 

If  Brooklyn,  Queens  and  Richmond,  as  well  as  Manhattan  and 
the  Bronx,  are  to  be  supplied  from  the  new  works,  and  if  no 
method  is  put  in  force  for  the  control  of  wastage,  the  limit  of 
the  capacity  of  the  first  installment  of  the  new  proposed  Catskill 
works  will  have  been  reached  by  1918,  whereas  if  the  City  is  put 
on  the  meter  basis  the  additional  supply  will  not  be  needed  until 
12  years  later. 

The  cost  of  the  second  installment  of  the  additional  works  will 
be  $51,400,000.00  if  the  water-sheds  on  the  east  side  of  the  Hud- 
son are  developed  to  260,000,000  gallons  daily  capacity,  to  include 
all  the  water  obtainable  without  pumping  from  Fishkill  Creek, 
Wappinger's  Creek  and  Jansens  Kill. 

During  these  12  years,  with  no  meters  in  service,  the  annual 
cost  will  have  been  as  follows  : 


9i 


Part  IX:    Meters  as  a  Business  Proposition. 

Interest  on  $51,400,000.00  at  3  per  cent $1,542,000.00 

Sinking  fund  to  retire  bonds  in  40  years, — $51,400,000.00  at 

1.37  per  cent 700,000.00 

Depreciation  on  gates,  valves,  pipes,  filters,  etc.,  at  6  per  cent. .  310,000.00 
Ordinary   repairs,   keepers'   wages,    sanitary  policing,   labor- 
atory, and  accounting 90,000.00 

Cost  of  filtering  wasted  water,  150,000,000  gallons  daily  at  $3  165,000.00 

Total  annual  expense   2,807,000.00 

With  this  should  be  compared  the  cost  of  metering 
during  the  same  period. 

The  average  number  of  services  in  use  for  the  period,  at  a 
somewhat    less    faVorable    ratio    than    obtains    to-day, 
would  be : 
Average     population     during     period,     4,800,000  -^ 
Average    number    of    persons    per    service,     16,  =  300,000 
With  a  meter  on  every  service  the  cost  per  year  would  be : 
300,000  meters  at  $2.36  per  meter  per  year  for  meters, 
repairs,  renewals,  interest,  reading,  sending  out  bills,  etc.         708,000.00 


Difference,  representing  excess  cost  per  year,  due  to  waste 

and    leakage    $  2,099,000.00 

or,  for  the  12  years $25,188,000.00 

(about  half  enough  money  to  build  the  additional  works 

WHEN  they  become   NECESSARY) 

If  Brooklyn,  Queens  and  Richmond  are  supplied  from  other 
sources  and  only  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  from  the  proposed 
new  Catskill  works  the  comparison  is  still  more  favorable,  as 
the  construction  of  the  second  installment  of  the  works  could  be 
deferred  about  15  years,  resulting  in  a  cash  saving  to  the  City 
after  paying  for  the  meters,  their  repairs,  testing,  renewals,  main- 
tenance, reading  and  sending  out  bills,  etc.,  of  about  $32,000,000, 
or  almost  two-thirds  of  the  amount  necessary  to  build  the  second 
installment  of  the  new  works  for  a  yield  of  260,000,000  gallons 
daily. 


95 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

To  state  this  a  little  more  in  detail : 

If  waste  is  not  gotten  under  control  the  City  will  have  paid 
out,  in  15  years,  in  annual  charges  on  an  increased  sup- 
ply, after  the  limit  of  the  first  installment  of  the  Catskill 
supply  has  been  reached,  a  total  of $42,105,000.00 

While,  during  the  same  time,  with  the  use  of  meters  to  post- 
pone the  construction  of  these  works,  the  total  amount 
paid  out  will  have  been 10,600,000.00 

Showing  saving  by  the  use  of  meters  in  the  15  years  of $31,505,000.00 

Which  will  pay  two-thirds  of  the  cost  of  the  next  large  necessary 
addition  to  the  Water  Supply  of  New  York,  if  secured,  as  it  log- 
ically should  be,  by  developing  the  water-shed  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Hudson  tributary  to  the  new  aqueduct. 

The  use  of  meters,  therefore,  instead  of  bringing  about  an 
increase  of  taxation  will  save  the  City  a  sum  of  money  that  will 
go  far  toward  providing  the  next  increase  in  the  supply,  or  if 
handled  in  another  way,  would  permit  a  reduction  in  the  water 
rates  that  would  have  to  be  collected,  if  wastage  were  allowed  to 
continue,  equal  to  about  $2,000,000  per  year  for  that  15-year 
period. 

New  York  City  has  few  opportunities  of  making  investments 
that  will  show  such  a  large  return.  The  cost  of  these  meters, 
their  maintenance  and  repairs,  renewals  of  those  broken  and  worn 
out,  inspections,  testing  and  sending  out  the  bills,  makes  a  total 
of  $10,000,000  for  which  the  City  receives  a  clear  profit  of  $30,- 
000,000  in  15  years,  or  300  per  cent.,  or  20  per  cent,  per  year. 

While  no  man  living  can  with  certainty  predict  the  precise 
conditions  that  will  obtain  twenty  years  in  the  future,  or  ten,  or 
even  five  years,  either  as  to  the  growth  of  the  population,  or  the 
rate  of  water  consumption,  or  the  possible  extent  of  waste  reduc- 
tion, it  is  unnecessary  for  present  purposes  that  these  predictions 
should  be  exact ;  for  it  matters  not  whether  the  postponement 
of  the  construction  of  the  second  installment  of  the  new  supply 
be  for  two  years  or  twenty,  or  whether  the  meters  be  completely 
paid  for  as  fast  as  introduced  or  be  gradually  paid  for  out  of  the 
proceeds  of  a  bond  issue  running  20  or  more  years,  the  adoption 

96 


Part  IX:    Meters  as  a  Business  Proposition. 

of  universal  metering  will  be  a  paying  policy  in  New  York  City 
whenever  undertaken  in  the  future.  This  is  shown  in  Table  23, 
which  exhibits  the  probable  saving  to  the  City,  as  the  result  of 
universal  metering,  corresponding  to  the  postponement  of  the 
building  of  the  second  installment  of  the  proposed  new  supply 
for  different  assumed  periods  varying  from  1  to  15  years. 

Up  to  the  present  time  universal  metering  has  not  been 
urgently  necessary  in  New  York,  and  it  may  even  be  questioned 
whether  from  a  practical  point  of  view  it  would  hitherto  have 
been  advisable ;  but  the  situation  is  now  entirely  changed.  Sub- 
sequent new  additions  to  the  supply  must  provide  for  larger  and 
larger  quantities,  each  more  difficult  and  more  expensive  to  ac- 
quire than  its  predecessor;  and  the  day  is  not  very  far  distant 
when  the  only  available  remaining  source  will  be  the  Hudson 
River,  the  waters  of  which  will  then  have  to  be  secured  by  pump- 
ing from  some  point  beyond  Poughkeepsie  or  be  brought  by 
gravity  in  enormous  aqueducts  from  the  Adirondack  Mountains 
200  miles  away. 

When  a  new  gravity  supply  is  introduced  it  costs  just  as  much 
per  year  for  interest,  sinking  fund  and  operation  expenses 
whether  all,  or  only  one-tenth,  of  the  amount  of  water  thus  made 
available  is  consumed.  Therefore  property  owners  must  always 
pay  for  more  water  than  is  actually  used,  the  disproportion  be- 
tween quantity  and  cost  being  greater  in  the  earlier  years,  and 
being  in  direct  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  the  excess  pro- 
vided. Where  leakage  and  wastage  are  not  under  control  this 
excess  necessarily  has  to  be  made  materially  greater  to  provide 
for  the  future  growth  of  the  City  than  where  the  supply  is  prop- 
erly husbanded,  otherwise  the  extensions  of  the  works  would 
necessarily  become  much  more  frequent;  and  either  alternative 
would  greatly  increase  the  taxes  that  would  have  to  be  levied  to 
provide  for  the  maintenance  of  the  works. 

In  the  near  future,  owing  to  the  dangers  due  to  the  pollution 
of  the  streams,  dangers  which  can  not  be  entirely  forefended  by 
any  practical  protective  measures,  the  water  supply  of  New  York 
will  require  filtering  to  safeguard  Public  Health.  Filtering  costs 
money;  and  the  wasting  of  water  which  has  been  prepared  by 
this  process  is  an  entirely  different  proposition  from  wasting  the 

©7 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


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Saving,         resvdting 
from    universal    meter- 
ing if  cost  of  meters  be 
provided  for  out  of  bond 
issue    running  20  years 
instead    of    paying    for 
them  completely  during 
periods   stated    in    Col- 
umn I. 

C^NTfC^OINCiOOOCOOOOO 
00»COiOOO--i(NC<)t^C^t^(NCO>-OCO 

a 
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Saving,         resulting 
from    universal    meter- 
ing, assuming  all  meters 
to  be  fully  paid  for,  dur- 
ing period  stated  in  Col- 
umn 1,  as  well  as  all  re- 
pairs  and   maintenance 
charges  due  to  the  meter 
system's            adoption, 
would     be,     for    entire 
period  stated  in  Column 

(Ncocsioooooioooo'ooo" 
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c 

If     meters     are 
not      used,       and 
wastage    prevails, 
the  second  install- 
ment    of     supply 
will  have  to  be  in 
use,  and  the  main- 
tenance      charges 
thereon,    compris- 
ing interest,  depre- 
ciation,       sinking 
fund   and   operat- 
ing          expenses, 
would  be,  for  peri- 
od stated  in  Col- 
umn 1, 

The     aggre- 
gate    cost     of 
meters,      fully 
paid    for    dur- 
ing period  stat- 
ed  in   Column 
1,  and  for  me- 
ter       mainte- 
nance,    during 
same      period, 
would  be 

■<a<TtHcooo(Ncooooo5t^oO'-i'-i-* 

COO-*OOCOt^'-i<00'OOiO'-i«0^ 

«-^"Tj4Ti7»oiococdi>t>."oo'oo"o5  0iO 

The        total 
cost  of  repairs, 
renewals,       in- 
terest, reading 
meters,       etc., 
for  entire  peri- 
od    stated     in 
Column           1 , 
would     be     at 
$1.61  per  met- 
er,  per  year 

csJ'rjTco'oooo'ood'ooopo 
«0'-HoocDiO'*<'Oior^cot^coot^ir) 

CO  t^  O  ^_  00  (N  CD  O  •*  O  CO  00  CO  t^_  C^_ 
^f-HrH(N(N  CO  CO  CO  •<i' ■*">--:  vo"tCl 

The    total 
cost     of     the 
meters  in  use, 
at  $15.00  each, 
for     entire 
period     stated 
in      Column 
1  would  be 

ooooooooooooooo 
ooooooooooooooo 

OOiOiOOOO'iOiOOOOOOO 
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(N  CO  CO  Tj*  Tt  TjH  lO  >0  CD  CD  t^  t^  00  00  00 

co"co"co"co"co"coco'co"co'co'co*co"co"co"co' 

The  aver- 
age number 
of  Meters  in 
use    during 
the    period 
stated       in 
Column      1 
would  be 

ooooooooooooooo 
ooooooooooooooo 
ooooooooooooooo 

If  the  building  of 
the   Second   Install- 
ment   of    the    New 
Supply,    which,    un- 
less wastage  is  under 
control,  will  have  to 
be   ready   by   about 
1922,    can,    by   uni- 
versal metering,  be 

uS2 

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C 

a           

1 

Part  IX:    Meters  as  a  Business  Proposition. 

surplus  water  from  a  gravity  supply  which  costs  just  as  much 
per  year  whether  part  of  it  is  used  and  part  wasted  or  whether 
all  of  it  is  used.  There  is,  for  American  conditions,  no  way  to 
stop  this  loss  except  by  universal  metering. 

When  considering  future  probabilities  universal  metering  for 
New  York  City  thus  assumes  great  economic  importance,  not 
only  for  its  immediate  financial  benefits  but  also  for  its  material 
effect  on  the  future  growth  and  importance  of  the  City.  Unless 
leakage  and  wastage  are  brought  under  control  there  will  event- 
ually be  locked  up  in  the  New  York's  water  supply  works  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  dollars  of  the  Public's  money  which  under 
proper  conditions  should  be  available  for  business  and  commer- 
cial uses.  The  postponement  of  the  construction  of  the  second 
installment  of  the  proposed  new  supply  for  15  years  would  alone 
represent  an  average  saving  of  about  $2,000,000  per  year,  which 
invested  in  business  with  a  return  of  only  3  per  cent  per  annum 
would  represent  in  that  15  years  a  total  value  of  about  $38,500,- 
000,  of  which  $30,000,000  would  represent  the  total  principal 
saved  and  $8,500,000,  the  sum  of  the  progressive  earnings  year 
by  year  of  the  increments  of  the  principal. 

New  York  City,  while  the  most  important,  is  only  one  of 
many  cities  which  must  for  all  time  depend  for  water  upon  the 
streams  tributary  to  and  forming  the  Hudson  River.  All  the 
cities  on  this  water-shed  are  growing  in  population ;  and  the  in- 
creasing difficulties  of  supplying  water  to  them  as  one  water- 
shed after  another  is  exhausted,  and  the  hardships  imposed  upon 
certain  municipalities,  by  others,  through  the  appropriation  of 
waters  nearby  which  may  ultimately  be  needed  in  the  future  for 
their  own  water  supplies  or  for  the  development  of  manufactur- 
ing industries,  make  it  imperative  that  communities  taking  water 
from  without  their  corporate  limits  should,  as  a  matter  of  public 
policy,  use  this  water  economically  and  properly  instead  of  allow- 
ing a  significant  percentage  of  it  to  leak  away  into  the  sewers. 

It  was  stated  in  the  first  pages  of  Part  1  that  the  problem 
of  waste  and  leak  reduction  is  one  of  convincing  owners  of  prop- 
erty in  New  York  City  that  it  is  to  their  interest  to  assist  in 
stopping  these  losses,  which  add  materially  to  their  taxes  year 
by  year,  by  showing: 

99 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

First. — That  leakage  can  be  stopped  quickly  and  that  when  once 
stopped,  can  be  permanently  controlled. 

Convincing  proof  that  leakage  and  wastage  can  be  stopped 
has  been  offered  in  Part  VI.  From  the  data  contained  therein 
it  will  be  seen  that  either  house  to  house  inspections,  partial  me- 
tering, combined  with  inspections,  or  complete  metering  will  be 
effective  for  the  purpose,  but  that  permanent  control  of  wastage 
is  not  obtainable  for  American  conditions  except  by  universal 
metering. 

Second. — That  owner  of  properties  run  no  risk  of  being  robbed 
by  wasteful  tenants  when  the  water  is  sold  by  meter. 

The  answer  to  this  is  found  in  every  city  where  meters  are 
in  use.  Berlin  affords  one  of  the  most  instructive  examples,  as  in 
Berlin  a  larger  percentage  of  consumers  are  tenants  than  in  New 
York,  and  the  meter  system  has  been  voluntarily  extended  by 
the  landlords;  it  saved  them  money,  therefore  they  adopted  it. 
Where  meters  are  largely  in  use  and  where  the  meter  rates  are 
properly  adjusted,  our  American  cities  all  tell  the  same  story. 
Those  few  in  which  domestic  consumers  are  metered  only  on 
request,  and  in  which  the  system  has  not  rapidly  extended,  can 
find  the  reason  therefor  not  in  the  wastefulness  of  tenants,  but 
in  the  stupidity  of  the  authorities  in  sticking  to  inequitably  ad- 
justed rates.  Where  rates  are  properly  adjusted  every  owner  will 
demand  a  meter  when  he  sees  his  neighbor's  water-bills  reduced. 
The  best  evidence  of  the  fact  that  tenants  do  not  rob  landlords, 
however,  is  found  in  the  records  of  our  metered  cities,  in  all  of 
which  the  majority  of  consumers  are  tenants,  and  in  practically 
all  of  which  the  water  rents  are  liens  on  the  premises  served,  and 
yet  there  is  not  one  of  these  that  would  go  back  to  assessment  or 
frontage  rates.  When  rates  are  properly  adjusted  the  sale  of 
water  by  measure  is  the  fairest,  most  satisfactory  and  most  eco- 
nomical method,  not  alone  for  the  owners,  but  for  the  entire  city. 

Third. — That  it  is  to  the  financial  advantage  of  the  owner  to  keep 
the  plumbing  in  his  buildings  properly  repaired  and  pay  for 
the  water  used  rather  than  to  neglect  to  keep  his  property  up 
and  pay  for  the  water  wasted. 


Part  IX:    Meters  as  a  Business  Proposition. 

This  proposition  is  answered  completely  in  Part  IX,  wherein 
it  has  been  shown  that  with  leakage  and  wastage  under  control 
the  postponement  of  the  construction  of  the  second  installment 
of  the  Catskill  supply  will  save  about  $2,000,000  per  year  above 
the  cost  of  metering  for  from  12  to  15  years.  During  that 
period  there  will  be  some  300,000  properties  in  New  York  City 
which  will  require  attention.  It  is  not  necessary  in  this  connec- 
tion to  take  account  of  accidents  such  as  the  bursting  of  service 
pipes  by  freezing,  etc.,  as  these  would  have  to  be  repaired  in 
any  event,  nor  of  general  depreciation,  which  will  go  on  and  must 
be  taken  care  of  whether  meters  are  used  or  not ;  the  only  repairs 
necessary  to  be  considered  are  those  due  to  worn-out  fixtures  and 
leaky  valves,  principally  in  water  closets,  which  for  an  average 
expense  of  $1.50  to  $2.00  per  year  per  service  could  be  kept  from 
leaking  after  once  having  been  put  in  proper  order.  This  seems 
like  a  high  figure  when  it  is  realized  that  there  are  thousands  of 
buildings  in  New  York  where  for  years  no  leakage  has  taken  place 
and  not  a  cent  has  been  spent  for  repairs.  Perhaps  a  more  rational 
way  to  look  at  it  would  be  to  consider  that  the  15  per  cent,  of  the 
properties  from  which  most  of  the  leakage  takes  place  would  have 
to  be  overhauled  every  year  (a  different  15  per  cent,  each  year) 
and  be  provided,  at  an  average  cost  of,  say,  $10.00  per  year  per 
property,  with  new  faucets  and  ball  cocks  to  replace  those  worn 
out  and  leaking.  This  would  represent  a  total  cost  of  about  $450,- 
000  per  year  to  be  spent  by  owners  for  stopping  leaks  in  the  entire 
City.  Under  the  assumption  that  the  plumbing  averaged  of  about 
the  same  durability  all  over  the  City,  each  owner  would  then  have 
to  spend  $10.00  in  6  years  to  stop  leaks,  or  about  $1.66  per  year. 
Even  if  the  average  cost  were  7  times  this  much  metering  would 
still  pay,  for  without  metering  the  water  taxes  during  the  period 
referred  to  will  have  to  be  about  $2,000,000  per  year  higher  than 
if  universal  metering  is  adopted  in  order  to  cover  the  annual 
charges  for  the  second  installment  of  the  Catskill  supply,  which 
will  then  have  to  be  in  use  if  leakage  and  wastage  are  not  stopped. 

Therefore  there  will  be  no  justification  whatever  for  threats 
by  landlords  that  if  the  meter  system  is  adopted  the  rents  will 
have  to  be  raised.  The  adoption  of  universal  metering  will,  with 
properly  adjusted  rates,  save  landlords  money  and  afford  no  ex- 
cuse for  increasing  rents.     Everybody  can  have  as  much  water 

101 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

as  is  now  used  for  no  more,  and  probably  in  85  per  cent,  of  the 
cases  for  a  little  less  money  than  is  now  being  paid  annually. 
There  will  be  no  necessity  for  being  economical  in  the  use  of 
water  under  the  meter  system;  it  will  be  used  just  as  extensively 
and  with  the  same  lavishness  as  to-day,  but  there  will  be  no 
leakage  and  those  who  wish  to  waste  it  can  do  so  by  paying  for 
what  they  waste,  and  those  who  do  not  will  not  have  to  help  to 
pay  for  that  wasted  by  others. 

Another  way  by  which  wastage  can  be  controlled  with  the 
aid  of  meters  is  to  put  a  meter  on  every  service  at  the  City's  ex- 
pense, maintain  a  force  of  meter  readers  and  inspectors,  the  same 
as  if  the  City  were  permanently  on  the  meter  basis,  but  let  the 
water   rates   remain   as   at   present  and   penalize   with   nominal 
fines  properties  where  the  meters  show  waste  or  leakage.     This 
would  have  pretty  nearly  as  great  a  restraining  effect  on  waste 
and  leak  control,  but  the  system  would  cost  quite  a  little  more  to 
maintain  than  a  straight  meter  system  and  would  not  afford  that 
equitable  distribution  of  charges,  whereby  each  consumer  pays  for 
what  he  uses,  that  forms  one  of  the  chief  attractions  of  the  plan 
under  which  all  water  is  sold  by  measure.     The  net  advantage 
of  this  modified  meter  system  would  be  less  than  of  the  simpler 
one  of  universal  metering,  although  it  would  without  doubt  en- 
able waste  and  leakage  to  be  kept  largely  under  control ;  it  was 
used  successfully  for  a  number  of  years  in  one  of  the  suburbs 
of  London.    Its  disadvantage  is  that  the  consumer  gets  no  benefit 
from  being  careful,  but  gets  fined  if  he  is  careless ;  that  is,  it  is  all 
disadvantage  and  no  advantage   from  the  consumer's  point  of 
view,  and  has  all  the  other  disadvantages  of  the  house-to-house 
inspection  method,  including  the  probability  of  its  discontinuance 
by  subsequent  Administrations. 

It  is  plain,  therefore,  that  there  is  no  half-way  ground  in  this 
question.  It  is  purely  a  matter  of  which  policy  the  City  wishes 
to  follow  in  the  future. 

If  the  property  owners  wish  to  perpetuate  the  past  policy 
of  beginning  work  on  a  new  water  supply  plant  as  soon  as  the 
one  now  proposed  is  completed,  and  so  on  to  eternity,  their  taxes 
going  up  each  time  in  consequence,  then  the  method  of  house-to- 
house  inspections  will  tide  over  the  present  emergencey,  but  very 

102 


Part  IX:    Meters  as  a  Business  Proposition. 

probably  at  the  expense  of  reduced  pressures  during  some  of  the 
years.  If  they  wish  to  get  the  full  benefit  of  a  good  business 
proposition,  whereby  their  taxes  can  be  kept  at  the  lowest  possible 
limit,  then  universal  metering  should  be  adopted  as  soon  as  the 
necessary  right  can  be  acquired  to  place  meters  on  domestic  con- 
sumers. 

In  conclusion  I  desire  to  state  that  owing  to  the  limited  time 
available  for  preparing  this  report  it  has  been  impossible  to  quote 
authorities  and  references  in  detail  for  all  the  data  used,  but  I 
wish  to  express  my  great  appreciation  of  the  kindness  of  the  many 
superintendents  and  managers  of  water  works  plants  who  have 
furnished  data  used  herein ;  and  I  have  included  the  titles  of  the 
reports  from  these  various  cities,  with  the  names  of  the  officials 
furnishing  the  data,  in  Appendix  E,  which  contains  references 
to  the  works  and  special  articles  consulted  in  connection  with  this 
investigation. 

The  data  regarding  the  stream-flows  of  the  Croton  and  Bronx 
water-sheds  since  1899  have  been  taken  from  the  Annual  Reports 
of  the  Department  of  Water  Supply;  those  for  prior  years  from 
the  recalculations  of  John  R.  Freeman,  as  given  in  his  report  to 
Controller  Coler  in  1900.  The  data  regarding  the  proposed  new 
Water  Supply  from  Dutchess  County  and  the  Catskili  Mountains 
are  based  on  the  Burr-Hering-Freeman  Report,  1903.  Various 
other  data  of  value  have  been  derived  from  these  reports,  and 
from  the  report  of  the  New  York  Merchants'  Association  on  the 
Water  Supply  of  New  York,  the  special  reports  of  I.  M.  De 
Varona,  Chief  Engineer,  on  water  waste  in  Brooklyn ;  N.  S.  Hill, 
former  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Department  of  Water  Supply,  on 
water  waste  in  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx,  and  various  other 
works,  a  list  of  which  is  given  in  Appendix  E. 

I  also  desire  to  record  my  appreciation  of  the  courtesies  shown 
me  by  the  Commissioner  of  Water  Supply,  Gas  and  Electricity, 
Mr.  W.  B.  Ellison,  and  to  the  Chief  Engineer,  Mr.  I.  M.  De  Va- 
rona, by  whom  valuable  data  and  suggestions  were  offered. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

James  H.  Fueetes. 


103 


APPENDICES 


TO 


WASTE  OF  WATER  IN  NEW  YORK 

AND    ITS    REDUCTION     BY 

METERS  AND  INSPECTION 


APPENDIX   A:     UNACCOUNTED  FOR  WATER 

APPENDIX  B:     WASTE  OF   METERED   WATER 

APPENDIX  C:     WASTE  FROM  STREET  MAINS 

APPENDIX  D:     WASTE  REDUCTION  IN  AMER- 
ICAN AND   GERMAN   CITIES 

APPENDIX    E:     LIST  OF  REFERENCES 


APPENDIX  A. 
UNACCOUNTED-FOR  WATER. 

IT  is  not  known  to-day  and  probably  never  will  be  known  what 
becomes  of  about  one-fourth  of  the  water  entering  the  Cro- 
ton  Aqueduct  for  the  supply  of  New  York  City.  Therefore  the 
statement  that  half,  or  more  than  half,  the  water  coming  to  New 
York  is  wasted  is  unfounded  and  misleading.  That  about  half 
of  it  has  not  been  accounted  for  is  reasonable;  but  that  half  of 
it  is  wasted  is  not  true. 

If  all  the  water  coming  to  the  City  were  measured  daily  by 
the  most  accurate  practicable  means  just  before  reaching  the 
distribution  system,  and  all  water  used  for  public,  private,  manu- 
facturing and  commercial  purposes  were  sold  by  meter  measure- 
ment, it  would  still  be  impossible  to  account,  year  in  and  year 
out,  for  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  total  supply.  In  general 
terms,  therefore,  under  the  most  accurate  systems  of  measurement 
practicable  for  such  large  quantities  of  water  sold  in  such  small 
units,  there  is  an  average  of  at  least  75,000,000  gallons  of  water 
per  day  coming  into  New  York  City  the  ultimate  disposition  of 
which  cannot  be  ascertained;  and  this  amount  must  be  deducted 
from  the  total  reported  supply  before  considering  how  much 
wastage  can  be  controlled  or  prevented. 

Of  this  75,000,000  gallons,  one  part  is  made  up  of  innumera- 
ble small  leaks  through  imperfect  pipe  joints,  through  the  walls 
of  cracked  or  faulty  pipes,  through  rusted,  split  or  defective 
service  pipes,  through  the  worn-out  packing  around  valve  stems, 
through  the  faulty  and  worn-out  stop  and  corporation  cocks,  and 
through  drip  valves  at  the  bottoms  of  fire  hydrants,  most  of  these 
leaks  being  too  small  to  be  located  by  any  ordinary  or  practicable 
means ;  a  second  part  is  stolen  through  unauthorized  or  unknown 
connections  and  the  balance  is  used  but  not  accounted  for  by  the 
meters,  owing  to  the  fact  that  many  do  not  register  correctly, 
being  worn  out  or  partially  clogged. 

There  seems  to  be  a  very  prevalent  idea  that  every  drop  of 

107 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

water  that  comes  into  New  York  City  should  be  accounted  for; 
and  it  may  be  well  to  indicate  briefly  why  this  cannot  be  done 
and  to  illustrate  by  actual  experience  in  many  cities  where  all 
water  is  sold  by  meter  the  fallacy  of  such  a  supposition. 

The  quantity  of  water  supplied  to  New  York  City  is  estimated 
by  the  Engineers  of  the  Department  of  Water  Supply  from  the 
depth  at  which  the  water  flows  in  the  aqueduct  at  a  certain  point 
near  the  source  of  supply. 

At  any  given  cross-section  in  the  aqueduct  the  water  moves 
with  different  velocities  at  different  points,  the  greatest  velocities 
being  near  the  centre  of  the  mass  and  nearer  the  top  than  the 
bottom,  while  toward  the  sides  and  the  bottom  the  velocities  are 
less.  At  the  place  where  the  depths  are  read,  for  determining 
the  discharge,  numbers  of  velocities  at  different  points  in  the  cross 
section  were  obtained  by  means  of  a  current  meter,  and  from 
these,  knowing  the  area,  the  mean  velocity  was  determined,  from 
which  the  discharges  corresponding  to  the  different  depths  of 
flow  were  calculated. 

This  method  of  measurement,  under  the  circumstances,  is  the 
only  one  practicable,  and  if  carefully  done  should  give  as  accurate 
a  measure  of  the  discharge  as  any  method  of  which  we  have 
knowledge  to-day.  If  the  condition  of  the  interior  of  the  aque- 
duct as  to  cleanness  and  freedom  from  deposits  and  plant  growths 
remains  always  the  same  there  is  no  reason  why  the  discharge 
for  given  depths  should  vary  by  any  considerable  amount.  This 
is  not  the  case,  however;  the  conditions  are  constantly  changing 
and  nearly  always  in  a  manner  to  cause  the  actual  flows  to  be  less 
than  those  determined  when  the  aqueduct  was  new  and  clean. 
Therefore  statements  of  flow  based  on  the  original  gaugings  are 
more  apt  to  be  too  large  than  too  small. 

The  Sudbury  Aqueduct  in  Boston,  which  is  about  the  size  of 
the  old  Croton,  as  well  as  the  Wachusett  Aqueduct,  which  is 
somewhat  smaller  than  the  new  Croton,  have  each  shown  a  reduc- 
tion of  30  per  cent,  in  discharging  capacity  from  these  causes  in 
a  single  year.  The  new  Croton  Aqueduct  has  been  in  use  almost 
15  years  and  has  never  been  cleaned  since  first  put  in  service. 
That  its  present  capacity  should  be  as  great  as  was  indicated  by 
the  original  gaugings  is  beyond  belief ;  but  as  no  recent  gaugings 

108 


Appendix  A:    Unaccounted-for  Water. 

have  been  published,  we  have  now  no  data  by  which  to  judge  of 
its  present  actual  discharging  capacity  for  different  depths  of 
flow. 

The  quantity  of  water  used  in  New  York  every  day  is  so  vast 
that  small  errors  in  estimating  the  flow  reach  high  figures  in  the 
totals. 

Thus,  309,000,000  gallons,  the  approximate  average  quantity  of 
water  used  per  day  in  Manhattan  during  1904,  accurately  measured 
by  weight  on  a  very  cold  winter  day,  would  make  about  one  million 
gallons  more  than  this  on  a  very  hot  summer  day.  An  error  of 
10  per  cent,  in  estimating  the  discharging  capacity  of  the  aque- 
duct would  represent  an  error  of  30,000,000  gallons  per  day  in 
the  reported  consumption  of  the  City. 

In  explanation  of  the  opening  statement  in  this  division  of  the 
Report,  to  the  effect  that  it  will  probably  never  be  possible  to 
account  for  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  quantity  of  water 
supposed  to  be  supplied  to  the  City,  the  data  given  in  Table  12  will 
be  instructive. 

This  table  contains  the  abridged  records  of  20  American  and 
17  German  cities  in  which  practically  all  the  water  used  by  con- 
sumers is  sold  by  meter  and  for  which,  therefore,  it  is  possible  to 
make  up  a  statement  of  the  total  quantities  supplied  and  total 
quantities  used ;  the  difference  between  these  two  quantities  repre- 
sents the  unaccounted  for  water,  which  includes  leakage  from 
street  mains  and  service  pipes  and  all  uncertainties  in  measure- 
ment due  to  inaccuracies  in  meter  measurements  and  estimates  of 
quantities  supplied. 

On  a  critical  study  of  these  records  it  will  be  seen  that  in 
most  of  the  cities  where  the  percentage  not  accounted  for  is  high 
the  water  is  supplied  by  pumpage ;  in  these  the  quantity  supplied 
was  estimated  from  the  rate  at  which  the  pumps  were  operated. 
In  some  cases  arbitrary  corrections  have  been  made  for  the  slip- 
page of  the  pumps  and  under-registration  of  the  meters  through 
which  the  water  was  sold,  while  in  others  no  allowances  have 
been  made. 

Under  actual  conditions  of  operation  the  amount  of  water 
delivered  by  pumps  is  generally  very  much  over-estimated  when 
based  on  revolutions  and  plunger  displacement.    The  most  illumi- 

109 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

nating  evidence  of  this  comes  from  Philadelphia,  where  all  the 
water  is  pumped  by  high  duty,  well  built  pumping  engines  of 
large  capacity,  and  of  a  type  such  that  slippage  would  be  supposed 
to  be  low.  Tests  recently  made  at  the  instigation  of  Major  Gil- 
lette, Chief  Engineer  of  the  Bureau  of  Filtration,  showed  an 
actual  discharge  in  the  different  engines  varying  from  8  to  56  per 
cent,  less  than  that  calculated  by  the  ordinary  methods,  and  aver- 
aging 25  per  cent,  less  for  all  the  large  pumping  stations  from 
which  the  city  is  supplied,  their  aggregate  capacity  being  over 
300,000,000  gallons  per  day. 

This  explains  where  some  of  the  unaccounted  for  water  is 
in  the  various  cities  of  which  the  records  are  given  in  the  table. 
But  making  all  reasonable  allowances  for  this  error,  it  will  be 
seen  that  in  none  of  the  American  cities  can  over  80  per  cent,  ot^ 
the  water  be  accounted  for  year  after  year. 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  and  conclusive  evidence  of  the 
uncertainties  atttending  the  measurement  of  moving  water  is  to 
be  found  in  the  case  of  West  Orange.  The  West  Orange  Water 
Company  buys  all  its  water  by  meter  from  another  water  com- 
pany and  sells  it  all  by  meter  to  the  various  consumers.  Mr. 
Carroll  Ph.  Bassett,  M.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,  the  President  of  the 
company,  writes  that  they  are  never  able  to  account  for  more 
than  80  per  cent,  of  the  water,  although  by  rigid  inspections  and 
immediate  stoppage  of  all  leaks  discovered  they  are  able  to  keep 
pretty  close  to  that  limit.  This  is  a  small  supply,  distributed 
through  about  30  miles  of  street  mains,  and  it  is  to  everybody's 
interest  to  avoid  wastage,  yet  even  under  these  favorable  condi- 
tions 20  per  cent,  of  the  water  cannot  be  accounted  for. 

All  the  cities  the  records  of  which  are  given  in  the  foregoing 
table  point  to  the  same  state  of  affairs,  and  with  a  uniformity, 
when  local  conditions  in  each  are  taken  into  account,  which  leads 
to  the  conclusion  that  in  a  city's  supply,  as  an  entity,  perfection 
in  the  measurement  of  the  water,  perfection  in  the  stoppage  of 
leaks  and  perfection  in  the  determination  of  all  the  water  used 
are  unattainable.  In  view  of  all  the  facts  I  do  not  believe  that 
with  all  preventable  leakage  stopped  in  New  York,  and  with  all 
water  sold  or  used  through  meters,  it  will  ever  be  possible  to 
account  for  over  80  per  cent,  of  the  water  supposed  to  be  supplied ; 

110 


Appendix  A:    Unaccounted-for   Water. 

and  that  to  account  for  even  75  per  cent,  of  it  would  require  the 
maintenance  of  a  skillful,  efficient  oversight  over  all  meters,  to 
•test  them  occasionally  for  accuracy,  and  systematic  examinations 
of  the  distribution  system,  to  locate  and  stop  underground  leaks, 
combined  with  periodical  house-to-house  inspections  to  discover 
water  connections  of  which  the  Water  Department  has  no  record. 


Ill 


APPENDIX  B. 
WASTE  OF  METERED  WATER. 

AT  the  present  time  the  water  sold  by  meter  measurement  in- 
cludes a  large  proportion  of  that  used  by  manufactories, 
the  large  stores  and  office  buildings,  as  well  as  the  hotels  and  the 
principal  commercial  houses.  The  unmetered  water  includes  that 
used  for  domestic  purposes,  a  certain  proportion  taken  by  ship- 
ping along  the  water  fronts  and  a  few  other  uses  provided  for  by 
frontage  or  assessment  rates. 

These  metered  consumers,  therefore,  if  now  wasting  water, 
are  doing  so  at  their  own  expense  and  not  at  the  City's ;  and  they 
will  continue  to  do  so  at  about  the  same  rate.  There  is  one  aspect 
of  the  question,  however,  that  should  receive  careful  and  intelli- 
gent attention,  and  that  is,  to  ascertain  whether  these  consumers 
are  all  paying  for  as  much  water  as  they  actually  take.  The  City 
does  not  own  the  meters  and  docs  not  remove  them  for  testing 
unless  a  noticeable  reduction  in  the  quantity  used,  as  compared 
with  previous  experience,  is  noted  in  the  readings;  and  it  is  more 
than  probable  that  many  which  have  been  in  use  several  years  and 
have  become  worn  out  do  not  record  correctly. 

It  is  also  certain  that  a  large  amount  of  water  is  taken  through 
connections  of  which  the  Department  of  Water  Supply  has  no 
record.  A  comprehensive  and  thorough  inspection  would  disclose 
these  and  would  add  to  the  revenues  of  the  City.  Such  an  inspec- 
tion in  Philadelphia,  in  1900-1901,  costing  for  all  clerks,  inspectors 
and  incidental  expenses  $26,447.76,  resulted  in  the  discovery  of 
over  70,600  takings  of  water  through  fixtures  of  which  there  was 
no  record  and  for  which  the  City  thereafter  collected  about  $147,- 
000  a  year.  There  is  little  reason  to  think  that  in  this  respect 
conditions  are  relatively  much  better  in  New  York  than  in  Phila- 
delphia. 

In  regard  to  the  under-registration  of  meters  in  New  York 
a  most  interesting  discovery  was  made  by  Mr.  E.  S.  Cole  when 
working  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  N.  S.  Hill,  at  that  time  Chief 

113 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

Engineer  of  the  Department,  in  an  extended  investigation  of 
water  waste,  the  descriptions  of  which  are  contained  in  the 
Annual  Report  of  the  Department  for  1903.  During  a  test  of 
one  of  the  districts  then  being  examined  a  very  large  consumption 
was  discovered  in  Section  No.  5,  which  included  the  Ansonia 
Hotel  at  73d  street  and  Broadway.  Tests  were  made  of  the  flow- 
in  this  district  from  Dec.  6th  to  9th,  1903,  to  locate  if  possible 
the  source  of  the  heavy  draft,  with  the  following  results : 

The  meter  readings  of  the  Department  showed  an  average 
daily  consumption  by  the  Ansonia  of  about  53,000  gallons  from 
early  in  September  until  the  7th  of  December.  Special  meter 
readings  of  these  meters  from  December  7th  to  9th,  by  the  in- 
spectors looking  for  leakage,  showed  an  average  daily  draft  at 
the  Ansonia  of  239,000  gallons,  while  the  independent  measure- 
ment of  the  water  flowing  in  the  mains  during  the  same  period 
was  269,000  gallons  daily;  this  included  a  few  residences  on  73d 
and  74th  streets  in  addition  to  the  Ansonia.  The  rate  of  night  con- 
sumption on  December  9th  by  the  meters  was  173,000  gallons  and 
by  the  pitometer  measurements  200,000  gallons  (including  the  few 
extra  residences  above  noted),  whereas  the  night  rate  of  con- 
sumption by  meter  was  but  7,000  gallons  on  Septem.ber  24th,  as 
compared  with  137,000  for  this  same  district  on  this  same  night 
by  pitometer  measurement.  It  was  reported  by  one  of  the  in- 
spectors that  the  hood  had  been  removed  from  one  of  the  large 
meters  prior  to  December  Gth,  and  the  clockwork  displaced  so  as 
to  prevent  registration. 

Examples  of  this  sort  can  be  quoted  in  great  number  from 
the  records  of  other  cities,  but  it  is  unnecessary  to  more  than 
point  out  one  such  specific  instance  to  show  the  necessity  of  con- 
stant supervision  of  all  meters  if  the  City  is  to  be  able  to  account 
for  its  water  and  collect  a  fair  amount  in  return  for  the  water 
taken. 

I  wish  also  to  point  out  in  this  connection  that  unless  the  me- 
ters are  systematically  taken  out  for  testing  occasionally  there 
is  a  large  temptation  set  before  dishonest  employees  to  allow 
meters  which  under-register  to  stay  in  place  for  a  consideration. 
It  is  practically  impossible  for  the  head  of  the  Department  to  be 
personally  familiar  with  the  behavior  of  every  meter,  or  to  keep 

114 


Appendix  B:    Waste  of  Metered  Water. 

track  of  the  rate  of  consumption  in  every  building;  and  unless 
the  meters  are  tested  systematically,  sealed  and  reset  there  is  no 
possible  check  on  the  honesty  of  the  inspectors,  upon  whom  the 
City  now  depends  for  the  reporting  of  defective  meters.  And  as 
a  logical  inference,  there  is  no  possible  way  by  which  the  Commis- 
sioner can  be  assured  that  the  City  is  receiving  pay  for  all  the 
water  used  through  the  meters. 

Another  fruitful  field  for  investigation  in  buildings  taking 
water  through  meters  relates  to  the  surreptitious  use  of  water 
through  connections  with  the  fire  protection  systems  in  the  build- 
ings. These  connections  cannot,  under  a  ruling  of  the  Board  of 
Fire  Underwriters,  be  metered,  and  the  taking  of  water  in  this 
way  therefore  cannot  be  prevented  without  frequent  inspections, 
at  irregular  and  unexpected  times,  by  trained  men  familiar  with 
piping  connections  and  fully  alive  and  awake  to  the  ingenious 
schemes  resorted  to  by  people  capable  of  stooping  to  such  thievery. 

It  is  very  simple  and  easy,  when  pipes  come  into  a  building 
from  the  street,  to  tap  the  pipe  outside  the  building,  beyond  the 
meter,  carry  a  branch  down  and  then  in  again  under  the  floor,  and 
up  in  some  concealed  place ;  and  there  are  doubtless  as  many  men 
willing  to  do  such  work  for  a  consideration  as  there  are  men 
capable  of  thinking  of  it.  To  detect  and  expose  such  trickery 
requires  not  only  honesty,  but  experience  and  considerable  me- 
chanical training. 


116 


APPENDIX  C. 
LEAKAGE  FROM  STREET  MAINS, 

VARIOUS  estimates  have  been  made  in  the  past  of  the  prob- 
able or  possible  amount  of  leakage  from  the  mains  and 
service  pipes  in  the  streets  of  New  York;  some  have  been  con- 
servative and  some  wild  guesses  based  on  nothing  more  substan- 
tial than  the  frequently  observed  fact  that  in  nearly  all  cities 
from  one-fourth  to  one-half  the  water  cannot  be  accounted  for, 
and  that  a  considerable  amount  of  water  is  apparently  used  during 
the  night  time.  From  these  facts  it  has  been  concluded  that  the 
water  not  accounted  for  must  leak  out  of  the  pipes,  a  conclusion 
which  is  not  conclusive.  That  there  is  leakage  is  a  fact,  but  that 
all  the  unaccounted-for  water  represents  leakage  and  waste  is  not 
true. 

No  city  has  been  able  yet  to  determine  the  exact  amount  of 
leakage  from  its  mains,  as  the  possible  means  of  making  such 
determinations  are  in  themselves  but  approximate. 

It  is  manifestly  impossible  to  make  such  tests  in  any  large 
city  without  jeopardizing  important  interests.  One  of  the  prime 
requisites  for  obtaining  data  on  this  important  subject  is  that  all 
service  pipes  be  shut  off  when  the  tests  are  made,  otherwise  the 
amount  of  water  found  running  through  the  pipes  at  any  point 
would  represent  use  or  wastage  in  the  buildings,  not  leakage  from 
the  mains.  In  New  York  such  tests  as  this  could  not  be  made,  as 
there  are  no  districts  where  all  service  pipes  are  provided  with 
shut-off  cocks ;  In  fact  there  are  very  few  such  cocks  outside  the 
buildings.  Even  if  stop  cocks  should  be  provided  on  every  service 
pipe  it  would  still  be  impossible  to  make  tests  in  certain  sections 
of  the  City  where  the  legitimate  night  use  is  almost  as  great  as 
the  day  use. 

Serious  leaks  can  generally  be  readily  found;  but  the  innu- 
merable small  ones  are  costly  to  locate  and  therefore  costly  to 
stop,  not  only  in  money  but  in  time. 

The  location  of  the  more  important  of  the  general  leaks  can 

117 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

be  determined  by  a  detailed  examination  of  the  flow  of  the  water 
in  the  mains,  street  by  street,  during  the  night  time  when  the  gen- 
eral use  of  water  is  the  least.  An  abnormal  rate  of  consumption 
of  water  in  a  certain  section  would  then  indicate  excessive  use, 
excessive  wastage  or  excessive  leakage,  and  a  hunt  through  the 
premises  and  sewers  in  the  section  under  examination  would  ac- 
count for  either  the  excessive  use  or  waste.  If  neither  excessive 
use  nor  waste  is  discovered  a  more  detailed  examination  of  a 
smaller  section  will  locate  the  leakage  from  the  mains  and  service 
pipes.  It  may  readily  be  seen  that  such  an  examination  would 
involve  years  of  systematic  work  on  an  elaborate  scale  to  stop  a 
significant  portion  of  the  leakage  in  the  850  miles  of  street  mains 
and  probably  more  than  850  miles  of  service  pipes  in  Manhattan 
alone.  For  immediate  relief,  therefore,  no  hope  is  to  be  held  out 
that  any  considerable  reduction  of  wastage  can  be  accomplished 
in  this  direction. 

Nevertheless  work  of  this  character  should  be  undertaken  ini- 
mediately  and  continued  as  a  part  of  the  permanent  routine  work 
of  the  Department.  Mr.  I.  M.  De  Varona,  Chief  Engineer  of  the 
Department  of  Water  Supply,  is  now  arranging  for  a  systematic 
house-to-house  inspection  of  all  properties  in  New  York  in  con- 
junction with  examinations  for  leakage,  not  only  in  the  buildings, 
but  in  the  street  mains  as  well. 

The  plan  outlined  by  Mr.  De  Varona  contemplates  the  control 
of  wastage  in  the  fixtures  in  buildings  by  the  imposition  of  fines 
for  all  leaks  found  on  second  inspection.  The  leaks  are  to  be 
located  by  house-to-house  examinations  combined  with  tests  of 
the  flow  in  the  mains,  during  the  night  time,  coincidently  with 
examinations  of  the  flow  from  the  sewer  connections  in  the  same 
district.  The  tests  of  the  flow  in  the  mains  will  be  made  by  expe- 
rienced observers  with  pitometers  to  be  owned  by  the  City, 
through  permanent  fixtures  to  be  attached  to  the  mains. 

This  system  will,  if  carried  out  extensively  and  maintained  as 
a  permanent  branch  of  the  organization,  and  with  capable  men  in 
charge,  control  a  large  portion  of  the  wastage.  I  venture  to  pre- 
dict, further,  that  if  carried  out  thoroughly  the  increased  annual 
revenue  resulting  from  the  discovery  of  water  takings  not  re- 
corded on  the  City's  books  at  the  present  time  will  more  than  pay 

118 


Appendix  C:    Leakage  from  Street  Mains. 

the  cost  of  the  first  year's  inspection  as  well  as  for  the  equipment 
of  the  bureau. 

Just  as  soon  as  the  system  is  discontinued,  however,  through 
changes  of  administration,  withholding  of  appropriations,  or  other 
exigencies  of  a  political  nature,  the  benefits  derived  from  it  will 
be  immediately  lost,  and  the  former  conditions  of  wastefulness 
will  return. 

While  there  is  considerable  information  to  be  had  regarding 
the  tightness  of  pipe  lines,  as  experimentally  determined,  such 
data  can  not  be  applied  to  conditions  in  a  City  where  valves, 
hydrants,  corporation  cocks  and  service  pipes,  some  of  them  very 
old  and  much  rusted  out,  are  incorporated  in  the  distribution  sys- 
tem in  endless  numbers ;  and  it  seems  futile  to  quote  such  figures 
and  attempt  to  apply  them  to  New  York  conditions.  We  have  no 
way  of  separating  this  leakage  from  the  rest  of  the  unaccounted- 
for  water,  part  of  which  is  stolen  and  part  of  which  can  not  be 
accounted  for  because  there  are  always  many  meters  in  use  which 
do  not  register  correctly,  either  because  they  have  been  tampered 
with,  or  have  become  worn  out,  or  clogged  with  rust,  or  ob- 
structed with  vegetal  fibres,  or  fish,  or  eels,  or  frogs ;  and  even 
with  the  closest  inspection  and  most  frequent  testing  practicable 
all  the  meters  can  not  be  kept  in  order  all  the  time. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  therefore,  the  only  really  practical  indi- 
cation of  excessive  street  main  leakage  is  to  be  found  in  the 
amount  of  unaccounted-for  water.  Where  this  is  found  to  be 
relatively  no  more  than  in  completely  metered  cities  using  every 
precaution  to  keep  wastage  and  leakage  stopped  it  may  be  as- 
sumed that  there  is  nothing  serious  the  matter  with  the  distribu- 
tion system  taken  as  a  whole.  This  is  the  case  in  both  Manhattan 
and  Brooklyn.  Further  confirmation  of  this  position  is  afforded 
by  the  examination  of  the  water  mains  uncovered  during  the  con- 
struction of  the  subway  system,  and  which  I,  personally,  have 
taken  occasion  to  obser\^e  many  times,  at  many  places,  in  both 
Manhattan  and  Brooklyn.  Still  further  confirmation  is  to  be  had 
from  the  extensive  tests  made  in  1903  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
N.  S.  Hill,  then  Chief  Engineer  of  the  Water  Department,  cover- 
ing about  12  per  cent  of  the  entire  area  of  Manhattan  Island,  and 
by  Mr.  I.  M.  De  Varona,  at  that  time  Chief  Engineer  of  the 
Brooklyn  Water  Supply  in  Brooklyn. 

119 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

These  tests  were  very  carefully  and  thoroughly  made ;  and  yet 
they  failed  to  locate  any  significant  leakage  from  the  mains.  In 
the  downtown  office  building  district  where  it  was  surmised  that 
leakage  would  be  discovered,  if  anywhere,  the  pipes  being  among 
the  oldest  in  use  in  the  City,  it  was  found  in  the  district  tested  in 
detail,  including  Liberty  street  from  Greenwich  to  West  street, 
and  West  street  from  Cortlandt  to  Cedar  street,  that  not  only  was 
there  no  evident  leakage  but  that  there  was  practically  no  flow 
observable  in  the  mains  after  midnight. 

The  rate  at  which  water  is  used  during  very  early  hours  of 
the  morning  is  very  frequently  taken  as  a  standard  for  indicating 
the  prevalence  of  wastage  and  of  leakage  from  mains,  but  such 
data  must  be  used  with  judgment  and  with  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  various  modifying  conditions.  The  sweeping  statement 
that  the  water  found  moving  through  the  mains  between  2  and 
4  A.M.  indicates  corresponding  leakage  and  waste  is  only  true 
when  it  can  be  proved  that  no  water  was  used  during  that  period, 
and  that  the  valves  in  the  mains  surrounding  the  district  under 
test  were  closed,  and  were  tight.  It  is,  no  doubt,  true  that  if  there 
were  no  use  of  water  during  the  night  and  no  leakage  through 
fixtures  in  the  buildings,  the  motion  of  the  water  in  the  mains 
would  indicate  leakage;  but  on  the  other  hand  the  finding  of  a 
night  consumption  does  not  by  any  means  prove  leakage  and 
wastage. 

The  City  of  Bayonne  buys  all  its  water  by  meter  measure- 
ment and  sells  it  to  consumers  by  meter  measurement.  Just  below 
Bayonne,  on  Constable  Hook,  are  the  large  works  of  the  Tide 
Water  Oil  Company,  the  Orford  Copper  and  Sulphur  Company, 
Pacific  Borax  Company,  and  Columbia  Oil  Company,  with  numer- 
ous docks,  boilers  and  pump  houses,  chemical  houses,  warehouses, 
paraffine  works,  and  other  allied  industries,  all  of  which  are  sup- 
plied with  water,  through  meters,  from  the  Bayonne  mains. 

On  the  13th  and  14th  of  October,  1899,  under  the  writer's 
direction,  hourly  readings  were  taken  of  the  meters  through 
which  the  entire  supply  to  the  city  passed  and  of  all  the  20  meters 
on  the  service  pipes  supplying  the  various  plants  on  Constable 
Hook.  The  general  results  for  that  24  hours  were  as  follows, 
based  on  the  resident  population  of  Bayonne  which  at  that  time 
was  about  21,000 : 

120 


Appendix  C:    Leakage  from  Street  Mains. 


Entire  City,  including  Constable 
Hook   

Constable  Hook  alone 

Bayonne,  (excluding  Constable 
Hook)    


Average  daily  con- 
sumption per  cap- 
ita, gallons. 


161 

81 

80 


Minimum  rate  of 
night  consump- 
tion per  capita, 
gallons- 


102 

58 

16 


Per 
centage 


63 

71 

20 


In  the  entire  city,  including  the  Hook,  the  maximum  rate  of 
consumption,  223  gallons  per  capita  per  day,  was  reached  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  the  minimum  rate,  102  gallons,  at 
four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  In  the  Hook  alone  the  maximum 
rate,  105  gallons  per  capita,  was  reached  at  midnight  and  the  min- 
imum, 58  gallons,  at  9  o'clock  in  the  evening,  while  in  the  city 
alone,  the  maximum  rate,  150  gallons  per  capita,  occurred  at  4 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  the  minimum,  16  gallons,  at  6  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  During  the  night  time  when  the  meters  were 
being  read  in  the  Hook  no  visible  operations  were  going  on,  the 
entire  district  was  as  dark  as  pitch,  being  practically  deserted 
except  for  a  few  watchmen  and  men  stationed  at  certain  points 
to  keep  up  steam  and  keep  the  pumps  running,  yet  the  amount  of 
water  actually  consumed,  as  shown  by  meter  measurements,  was 
but  little  less  during  the  night-time  than  during  the  day,  and 
the  actual  maximum  rate  of  consumption  was  at  midnight,  at 
which  time  it  would  naturally  be  supposed  that  comparatively 
little  water  would  be  used. 

Deducting  the  water  used  in  the  Hook  from  the  total  amount 
entering  the  Bayonne  mains,  however,  we  obtain  the  character- 
istic conditions  found  in  residential  cities :  maximum  rates  at  9  to 
10  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  with 
minimum  rates  in  the  early  morning  hours.  An  examination  of 
the  individual  records  of  the  meters  in  the  Hook  showed  the  inter- 
esting fact  that  some  plants  used  large  quantities  of  water  at  a 
comparatively  uniform  rate  throughout  the  entire  24  hours,  while 
others  used  almost  none  for  an  hour  or  two  at  a  time,  and  then 
large  amounts  at  irregular  intervals. 


121 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

This  instance  is  quoted  at  some  length  to  show  how  very  far 
general  conclusions  based  on  only  theoretical  considerations  may 
vary  from  actual  practical  conditions  and  to  indicate  the  danger 
of  concluding  that  if  tests  show  a  minimum  night  rate  equal  to  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the  average  daily  rate  of  consumption 
that  this  excessive  night  rate  points  only  to  excessive  leakage  and 
wastage. 

New  York  is  the  most  important  commercial  and  manufac- 
turing city  on  the  continent,  with  industries  of  various  kinds  using 
water  at  night  in  large  quantities,  and  a  relatively  high  night  rate 
of  consumption  is  to  be  expected ;  this  night  rate,  therefore,  with- 
out definite  information,  section  by  section,  regarding  conditions 
all  over  the  city  will  bear  no  definite  relation  either  to  wastage  or 
leakage  and  will  be  no  standard  by  which  the  amount  of  either 
can  be  estimated  or  determined. 

In  some  sections  of  New  York  City  the  pressure  in  the  mains 
is  frequently  not  great  enough  during  the  day  time  to  put  the 
water  in  the  upper  stories  of  the  buildings,  and  tanks,  placed  at 
such  an  elevation  that  the  water  will  rise  up  and  fill  them  during 
the  night,  are  extensively  used.  In  a  very  considerable  proportion 
of  the  low-level  district  the  combined  capacity  of  these  storage 
tanks  is  nearly  half  the  total  amount  of  water  used  daily  in  the  dis- 
tricts ;  and  to  fill  them  all,  under  the  dribbling  streams  coming 
from  the  slowly  rising  pressures  as  the  consumption  decreases 
towards  the  end  of  the  day,  may  well  consume  many  hours  at 
night. 

In  1900  the  writer  had  occasion  to  remodel  the  water  supply 
arrangements  in  a  high-class  apartment  house  located  on  Madison 
avenue  above  60th  street  where  the  pressures  in  the  street  mains 
were  generally  so  low  during  the  morning  that  the  water  would 
not  rise  above  the  second  story  of  the  building.  The  building  con- 
tained several  apartments  renting  at  the  average  price  of  $10,000 
per  year  each  and  in  order  to  keep  them  occupied  an  adequate 
supply  of  water  was  necessary.  Each  apartment  was  lavishly 
provided  with  sinks,  baths,  toilets,  bidets,  showers,  etc.,  with  a 
general  laundry  and  a  refrigerating  plant  in  the  basement  for  the 
manufacture  of  ice  not  alone  in  the  basement  but  in  the  private 
refrigerator  of  each  apartment.     The  remodelled  plant  provided 

122 


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Appendix  C:    Leakage  from  Street  Mains. 

a  storage  tank  in  the  basement  with  a  capacity  equal  to  half  a 
day's  total  supply  and  two  tanks  on  the  roof  holding,  together,  a 
half  day's  supply. 

This  large  provision  was  made  as  a  safeguard  against  an  in- 
terruption of  the  supply  due  to  breaks  in  the  mains,  which  had 
been  frequent  in  that  vicinity,  and  had  generally  not  been  repaired 
in  less  than  24  hours.  All  through  this  district  the  various 
buildings  have  pumps  operated  by  steam,  electricity,  or  hot  air 
engines  in  the  basements,  with  storage  tanks  in  the  attics ;  in  some 
th.e  pumping  is  done  only  in  the  day-time,  while  in  others  the 
pumps  run  practically  all  the  time.  In  the  large  building  above 
referred  to  the  pumps  are  small  and  are  controlled  by  an  auto- 
matic device.  During  the  morning,  middle  of  the  afternoon  and 
early  evening  the  heavy  drafts  from  the  roof  tanks  lower  the 
water  for  short  periods  much  faster  than  the  pumps  can  supply  it, 
with  the  net  result  that  the  pumps  run  at  intervals  all  through 
the  day  and  night. 

In  1903  Mr.  Hill  found  a  night  consumption  of  106  gallons 
per  capita  in  a  district  including  250  acres  in  the  Bronx.  The 
mains  in  this  district  were  new.  Sewer  inspections  and  other  tests 
revealed  no  main  leakage  and  but  a  very  small  amount  of  fixture 
leakage  in  the  44  unmetered  buildings  in  the  district.  Most  of  the 
water  supplied  to  this  district  was  used  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses. 

Serious  error  is  likely  to  result  from  the  assumption  that  the 
minimum  night  rate  of  consumption  in  a  large  city  represents  or 
is  indicative  of  the  extent  of  waste  and  leakage. 

In  Diagram  No.  2  the  average  daily  rates  of  consumption  per 
capita,  in  several  cities,  for  each  hour  during  several  consecutive 
days  are  arranged  for  convenient  comparisons.  From  the  Chi- 
cago diagram  the  ordinary  night  rate  was  about  165  gallons  per 
capita  and  the  ordinary  maximum  day  rate  about  195  gallons  per 
capita,  the  difference,  if  the  night  consumption  represented  waste 
and  leakage,  30  gallons,  would  then  represent  the  actual  amount 
of  water  necessary.  In  Providence,  on  the  other  hand,  the  ordi- 
nary night  rate  was  about  20  gallons  per  capita  and  the  heavy 
day  rate  about  85  gallons,  leaving  65  gallons  per  capita  per  day 

122 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

to  represent  the  actual  water  used.  According  to  this,  Chicago, 
a  live,  wide-awake,  progressive,  rapidly  growing  city,  with  all  its 
renormous  manufacturing,  shipping,  railroad,  commercial,  profes- 
sional, packing  house,  trades,  and  public  uses,  ought,  theoreti- 
cally, if  only  the  leakage  and  wastage  could  be  stopped,  to  get 
along  with  a  per  capita  allowance  of  water  less  than  half  that 
required  in  Providence.  It  is  very  evident,  from  a  comparison 
of  the  lines  on  this  diagram,  that  the  night  rate  of  consumption 
indicates  more  regarding  the  character  of  the  manufacturing  and 
commercial  industries  in  a  city  than  it  does  of  the  amount  of 
wastage  or  leakage;  and  that  it  can  not  be  a  measure  of  the 
amount  of  wastage  and  leakage  unless  the  actual  night  require- 
ments for  manufacturing,  commercial  and  industrial  uses  be  de- 
termined; and  this,  in  a  large  city  like  New  York,  even  if  com- 
pletely metered,  would  be  not  only  impracticable  but  next  to  im- 
possible. 

It  appears  to  me  that  data  concerning  night  consumption  in 
large  cities  are  really  of  little  practical  value  for  the  use  to  which 
they  most  often  are  put :  that  of  forming  a  foundation  on  which 
to  build  up  demonstrations  of  excessive  wastage.  In  small,  re- 
stricted districts  where  exact  conditions  are  ascertainable,  their 
application  to  facilitate  the  location  of  wastage  and  leakage  are 
proper,  and  in  strictly  residential  cities  they  may  give  an  approxi- 
mate indication  of  the  extent  of  such  losses. 

In  any  event  it  is  apparent  that,  so  far  as  New  York  City  is 
concerned,  it  is  hopeless  to  expect  that  such  leakage  as  may  occur 
in  mains  or  service  pipes  outside  the  houses  could  be  reduced  in 
sufficient  measure  to  appreciably  affect  the  general  rate  of  con- 
sumption short  of  many  years  of  patient,  systematic  and  very 
costly  work;  and  to  harp  on  this  source  of  preventable  waste  as 
one  which  should  be  immediately  attacked  as  a  means  of  relieving 
a  shortage  of  water  in  New  York  City  is  nonsense.  In  about  ten 
or  fifteen  or  perhaps  twenty  years  of  such  work  it  might  be  possi- 
ble to  save,  perhaps,  5  to  10  gallons  per  capita  of  the  water  now 
leaking  away  in  this  manner.  No  doubt  this  water  is  worth  sav- 
ing when  detected  in  conjunction  with  the  reduction  of  such  other 
and  more  important  wastage  as  can  be  found  immediately  and 
stopped.     The  proper  way,  therefore,  to  handle  this  street  main 

124 


Appendix  C:    Leakage  from  Street  Mains. 

leakage  is  to  look  out  for  it  when  searching  for  the  more  serious 
and  extensive  wastage  and  leakage  going  on  in  premises  where 
no  meters  have  been  installed,  and  in  the  hunt  for  illicit  takings 
of  water. 


125 


APPENDIX  D. 

WASTE  REDUCTION  IN  AMERICAN  AND  GERMAN 

CITIES, 


PART  I.    AMERICAN  CITIES. 


AS  BURY  PARK,  NEW  lERSEY. 

THE  Annual  Reports  of  the  Water  Department  of  Asbury 
Park  are  not  published  except  in  the  local  papers,  and  hence 
extensive  data  are  not  to  be  had.  The  following  information  has 
been  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  John  L.  Coffin,  Superintendent,  un- 
der date  of  March  7th,  1906. 

Asbury  Park  is  a  summer  resort  whose  ''busy  season"  is  from 
June  1st  to  September  15th,  the  culmination  being  about  August 
loth.  For  several  years  prior  to  1899  there  had  been  August 
shortages  of  water  that  were  annoying,  but  in  1899  the  shortages 
were  so  great  that  the  pressure  on  the  mains  during  the  day  was 
below  ten  pounds,  and  a  neighboring  plant  was  called  on  for  as- 
sistance. It  had  become  necessary  to  stop  all  lawn  and  street 
sprinkling,  and  the  prosperity  of  the  city  was  seriously  threatened. 

After  the  close  of  that  season  Mr.  Coffin  began  a  systematic 
campaign  for  the  adoption  of  meters.  There  was  great  opposition 
but  the  famine  of  the  past  season  was  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the 
Council,  and  the  measure  was  finally  passed  in  April,  1900.  Half 
the  city  was  metered  in  that  Summer  and  the  season  passed  without 
a  shortage;  by  July  1,  1901,  every  service  in  the  city  was  metered, 
and  during  the  five  years  following,  without  increasing  the  supply 
in  any  way,  there  has  been  an  abundance  of  water  at  all  times.  In 
addition  there  has  been  furnished  an  average  of  200,000  gallons 

127 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

per  day  for  street  sprinkling,  or  more  than  twice  the  quantity 
ever  before  allowed  for  that  purpose. 

The  growth  of  the  city  in  the  last  two  years  has  been  unprece- 
dented, and  it  has  become  necessary  to  increase  the  supply.  But 
the  meters  held  their  place  as  checks  on  waste  and  the  vast  major- 
ity of  property  holders  would  not  return  to  the  old  "flat  rate"  sys- 
tem. The  receipts  of  the  Department  have  increased  from  $20,000 
in  1899  to  over  $26,000  in  1905,  while  the  rate  has  been  reduced 
from  $2.50  to  $1.50  in  the  same  period. 

The  city  furnishes  and  takes  care  of  all  meters,  the  property 
owners  having  to  install  the  lead  pipe  connections  and  stop  valves. 

A  quarterly  minimum  charge  of  $1.50  is  made  on  each  meter 
connection,  whether  water  is  used  or  not,  and  this  charge  entitles 
the  consumer  to  1,000  cubic  feet. 

No  accounts  are  kept  with  tenants.  The  plant  being  under 
municipal  ownership,  the  charge  is  by  law  against  the  property, 
arrears  of  water  charges  being  a  lien. 

The  total  consumption  of  water  at  Asbury  Park  during  the  past 
seven  years  was  as  follows  : 

1899  183,000,000  Flat  rates. 

1900  188,000,000  About  half  the  services  were  metered 

by  the  close  of  the  season. 

1901  152,000,000  All  services  metered 

1903     168,000,000   " 

1903  195,000,000   *'  "  " 

1904  206,000,000   " 

1905  231,000,000   "  "  " 

There  are  no  manufacturing  interests  at  Asbury  Park,  but 
about  15  per  cent,  of  the  total  consumption  is  used  for  sprinkling 
streets,  washing  filters  and  other  public  purposes. 

The  reduction  of  the  consumption  in  1901,  the  first  season 
when  all  services  were  metered,  amounted  to  about  20  per  cent. 
of  the  previous  year's  consumption,  at  the  close  of  which  about 
half  the  water  was  being  sold  by  measurement.  The  probable  re- 
duction is  estimated  by  Mr.  Coffin  to  be  about  45,000,000  gallons, 
or,  counting  in  the  natural  increase  checked  by  the  meters  in  1900, 
a  total  probable  reduction  of  24  per  cent.  Since  1900  there  has 
been  a  continual  and  steady  increase  in  consumption,  the  large 
increase  during  1905  being  attributed  to  the  great  conventions  of 

128 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

early  July,  the  effects  of  which  were  felt  throughout  the  season. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  no  restrictions  as  to  the  use  of 
water,  and  house-to-house  inspections  have  been  abandoned.  The 
price  of  water  is  the  same  to  all  consumers  and  for  all  quantities, 
meters  being  read  and  bills  rendered  quarterly,  with  two  addition- 
al readings  for  August  1st  and  September  1st. 

The  losses  from  leakage  from  mains  and  service  pipes  cannot 
be  very  great,  as  frequent  tests  show  that  in  Summer  the  rate  of 
consumption  between  6  P.  M.  and  6  A.  M.  is  about  30  per  cent, 
of  the  total  day's  rate ;  while  in  Winter,  during  the  same  hours,  it 
is  about  20  per  cent. 

ATLANTA,  GEORGIA. 

IN  Atlanta,  Georgia,  the  consumption  of  water  had  become  so 
great  in  1884  that  it  was  necessary  to  put  in  an  extra  pump  in 
order  to  keep  up  the  supply  and  maintain  the  necessary  fire  pres- 
sure. After  this  pump  was  put  in  operation  it  soon  became  evi- 
dent that  another  force  main  would  be  required,  owing  to  the  great 
loss  of  pressure  resulting  from  the  excessive  taking  of  water  from 
the  mains ;  and  as  it  was  thought  impossible  to  raise  the  money 
for  this  purpose,  great  objections  being  made  to  the  increase  of 
taxation,  and  as  the  insurance  companies  complained  of  the  in- 
sufficiency of  fire  pressures,  it  was  determined  to  try  to  reduce  the 
waste  of  water  by  selling  it  to  consumers  at  meter  rates  instead  of 
flat  rates. 

The  meters  were  placed,  controlled  and  kept  in  repair  by  the 
Water  Commissioners,  but  were  paid  for  by  the  consumers, 
though  much  complaint  was  made  at  the  time  that  it  was  unjust 
for  the  consumers  to  have  to  pay  for  their  meters  and  then  pay  for 
the  water  measured  through  them. 

This  policy  was  adopted  for  the  reason  that  but  one-third  of 
the  city  was  within  reach  of  the  mains.  To  tax  the  other  two- 
thirds  for  the  meters  installed  for  the  control  of  the  one-third 
using  the  water,  which  one-third  would  also  enjoy  the  benefits  of 
fire  protection  and  decreased  insurance  rates,  appeared  unreason- 
able ;  and  there  was  no  way  for  the  city  to  get  the  money  for  the 
purchase  of  meters  except  by  taxation. 

129 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

The  general  introduction  of  meters  began  in  1885,  although  a 
few  had  been  installed  in  previous  years. 

In  1897  practically  all  the  services  were  metered,  and  since  that 
year  metering  has  been  compulsory.  The  records  of  Atlanta  there- 
fore are  of  particular  interest.  It  is  a  completely  metered  city,  sell- 
ing water  at  a  high  rate  per  1,000  gallons  and  with  a  comparatively 
high  per  capita  consumption.  Unfortunately,  no  census  of  the  con- 
sumers has  been  taken,  and  there  is  therefore  no  direct  comparison 
possible  with  the  other  cities  where  such  data  have  been  kept. 

The  introduction  of  meters  put  off  for  a  time  the  necessity  of 
increasing  the  capacity  of  the  plant,  but  by  1892  the  population 
had  nearly  doubled  and  a  new  water  supply  system  with  a  source 
of  supply  sufficient  for  a  long  time  in  the  future  became  a  neces- 
sity. Accordingly,  new  works  were  built  and  put  in  operation  in 
1893 ;  an  additional  15,000,000  gallon  pump  was  added  in  1901, 
and  still,  at  the  present  time,  the  plant  is  taxed  to  the  limit  of  its 
capacity,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  all  services  are  metered  and 
the  charges  for  water  high. 

The  average  daily  pumpage  of  water,  the  number  of  services, 
the  progress  of  metering  and  the  average  daily  consumption  per 
service  from  1883  to  1904  inclusive  are  given  in  Table  24,  (see 
opposite  page). 

The  cost  of  the  Meter  Department,  exclusive  of  the  cost  of 
reading  the  meters,  from  1899  to  1904,  has  been  as  follows  : 

TABLE  NO.  25. 


Cost  of  De- 

Amount Col- 

Cost of 

Number 

partment,  Ex- 

lected from  Con- 

Net Cost  to 

Year. 

Meters 

of  Meters 

clusive  of  Cost 

sumers  for 

Water  Depart- 

Set. 

Set. 

of  Meters. 

Parts  of  Meters 
Replaced. 

ment  of  operat- 
ing Meter 
Department. 

1899 

$11,067.70 

935 

$3,584.16 

$1,353.40 

$2,230.76 

1900 

11,358.50 

821 

3,837.35 

1,264.30 

2,573.05 

1901 

10,667.30 

921 

3,426.64 

749.60 

2,677.64 

1902 

20,084.20 

1,539 

3,558.32 

815.95 

2,742.37 

1903 

18,138.50 

'1,520 

4,169.63 

724.60 

3,445.03 

1904 

24,450.70 

2,142 

3,050.90 

105.80 

2,945.10 

Average  cost,  per  meter  set,  $12.15. 


130 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 


TABLE  NO.  24. 


«c» 

Average 

-a  a  ^ 

Total  Annual 

Number 

Daily  Con- 

^?. > 

Year. 

Pumpage, 

of 

sumption 

%l^ 

Remarks. 

Gallons. 

Services. 

per  Service, 
Gallons. 

IF 

1883 

859,448,080 

1,663 

1,410 

183 

95  meters. 

1884 

1,148,420,700 

1,832 

1,720 

225 

570  meters. 

1885 

876,055,000 

1,973 

1,220 

160 

General  metering. 

1886 

574,925,000 

2,077 

820 

107 

1,372  meters. 

1887 

No  data 

2,192 

From  this  year, 

1888 

628,931,300 

2,464 

700 

91 

practically   all 

1889 

756,762,600 

2,883 

720 

94 

services  are 

1890 

861,241,100 

3,273 

725 

95 

metered. 

1891 

942,966,730 

3,759 

698 

91 

1892 

923,451,700 

4,533 

560 

73 

1893 

1,296,550,800 

4,934 

720 

94 

1894 

No  data 

5,544 

1895 

1,657,549,110 

5,962 

765 

100 

1896 

1,814,963,500 

6,496 

715 

93 

1897 

1,895,623,800 

7,176 

720 

94 

1898 

1,807,661,800 

7,974 

620 

81 

1899 

1,996,908,200 

8,592 

638 

83 

1900 

2,146,635,700 

9,277 

634 

83 

1901 

2,261,947,100 

9,926 

624 

81 

1902 

2,511,687,200 

10,676 

642 

84 

1903 

2,484,954,300 

11,654 

584 

76 

1904 

2,761,337,800 

13,001 

582 

76 

*These  figures  are  based  on  7.65  persons  per  service,  and  are 
given  merely  for  purposes  of  comparison. 

Average  consumption  per  service  from  1888  to  1904,  inclusive, 
677  gallons  per  day. 

Minimum,  84  per  cent,  of  average. 

Maximum,  115  per  cent,  of  average. 


131 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

The  consumers  pay  for  meters  and  for  the  renewal  of  worn-out 
parts,  the  city  selling  the  meters  to  the  consumers  and  making  the 
necessary  repairs  when  needed. 

The  total  cost  of  the  maintenance  of  the  meter  system,  exclu- 
sive of  the  cost  of  reading  the  meters,  sending  out  bills,  etc.,  but 
including  the  replacement  of  condemned,  worn-out  meters,  with 
new  ones,  is  from  four  to  five  per  cent,  per  annum  on  the  value  of 
the  meters  in  service.  This  is  on  the  assumption  that  all  the  cost 
would  be  borne  by  the  city,  as  would  be  the  case  if  the  city  pur- 
chased, owned  and  maintained  the  meters. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  gradual  and  progressive  reduction 
of  consumption  per  service  during  1885  and  1886,  while  the  meter- 
ing of  the  old  services  was  in  progress,  and  still  more  so  to  note  the 
almost  constant  rate  which  has  prevailed  since  the  city  has  been 
completely  metered.  The  average  rate  from  1888  to  1904  inclusive 
has  been  667  gallons  per  service,  the  minimum  average  consump- 
tion for  any  year  being  84  per  cent,  and  the  maximum  115  per 
cent,  of  the  mean.  Based  on  7.65  persons  per  service,  which  is  the 
ratio  for  1889  (deduced  from  a  population  of  about  65,000  persons 
supplied  with  water),  the  average  daily  consumption  for  these  17 
years  has  been  about  85  gallons  per  capita,  with  a  tendency  to  de- 
crease rather  than  to  increase.  This  record  is  old  enough  to  be 
entitled  to  respect  and  demonstrates  that  in  a  city  on  a  permanent 
meter  basis  the  question  of  waste  is  eliminated  from  consideration. 

No  house-to-house  inspections  have  been  made  or  are  neces- 
sary. The  ordinary  situation  is  reversed;  it  is  profitable  to  the 
Atlanta  Water  Department  to  have  water  wasted  and  unprofitable 
to  the  consumer  to  waste  it.  On  the  other  hand,  there  seems  to  be 
no  excessive  economy  in  the  use  of  water,  as  85  gallons  per  capita 
is  a  rather  high  rate  of  consumption  in  a  city  of  100,000  people 
where  all  the  water  is  filtered  and  sold  at  meter  rates  at  20  cents 
per  1,000  gallons. 

Summary. — The  important  facts  illuminated  by  the  Atlanta 
experience  are  the  following  : 

First, — The  metering  of  all  consumers,  manufacturing,  domestic 
and  commercial,  was  followed  by  the  reduction  of  the  con- 

138 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

sumption  from  about  200  gallons  per  capita  to  an  average  of 
about  85  gallons  per  capita  daily. 

Second. — The  benefit  of  the  system  has  been  permanent  for  17 
years  and  presumably  will  remain  so  as  long  as  universal  me- 
tering is  practised. 

Third. — With  the  complete  metering  of  the  city  the  rate  of  con- 
sumption per  unit  of  population  supplied  has  remained  at  a 
nearly  constant  figure,  despite  the  rapid  growth  of  the  city  in 
population,  manufacturing  interests  and  commercial  impor- 
tance. 

Fourth. — The  placing  of  meters  has  not  been  followed  by  the  re- 
duction of  the  per  capita  consumption  to  the  exceedingly  low 
figures  obtaining  in  many  European  and  in  a  few  American 
cities. 

ATLANTIC  CITY,  NEW  JERSEY, 

ATLANTIC  CITY,  a  resort  on  the  New  Jersey  coast,  has  a  res- 
ident population  of  about  28,000  during  the  fall,  winter  and 
spring  months,  while  during  the  three  summer  months  from  100,- 

000  to  150,000  guests  are  taken  care  of  in  the  many  large  hotels, 
boarding  houses  and  cottages.  This  water  plant  therefore  has  a 
very  unussal  condition  to  meet,  the  extremes  between  the  minimum 
and  maximum  amounts  of  water  required  being  much  greater  than 
in  ordinary  water  supply  works,  the  ratio  between  the  day  of  small- 
est and  the  day  of  greatest  consumption  being  often  as  great  as 

1  to  6,  instead  of  the  more  usual  ratio  of  1  to  2.  The  amount  of  re* 
serve  pumping  capacity  required,  therefore,  is  necessarily  greater 
than  usual  and  the  difficulties  of  foreseeing  maximum  require- 
ments correspondingly  greater. 

In  1895-6  the  works  were  taxed  to  their  utmost  to  keep  up  the 
supply,  the  water  being  furnished  a  discretion;  and  at  times  the 
draft  on  the  system  was  so  heavy  that  there  was  no  pressure  on  the 
mains  in  certain  parts  of  the  area  supplied.  There  were,  on  the  1st 
of  August,  1895,  but  about  350  meters  in  use,  and  no  methods  were 
in  force  by  which  to  restrain  excessive  wastefulness.  The  situa- 
tion was  so  critical  that  immediate  action  was  necessary ;  without 
an  adequate  supply  of  water  the  place  would  lose  its  desirability  as 

133 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

a  summer  resort ;  and  the  extensive,  profitable  investments  be  ren- 
dered worthless. 

To  meet  this  situation  the  Board  of  Water  Commissioners,  who 
estimated  that  fully  half  the  water  pumped  was  wasted,  and  that 
the  supply  was  ample  if  properly  used,  decided  to  change  from  the 
system  a  discretion  to  the  system  of  sale  by  measure.  Accordingly 
an  appropriation  of  $25,000  was  made  for  the  purchase  of 
meters  and  during  February,  1896,  the  first  lot  arrived  and  placing 
them  was  immediately  commenced.  By  the  15th  of  July  some 
1,500  meters  had  been  set,  which,  with  the  original  350  in  use,  con- 
trolled about  half  the  services. 

In  connection  with  the  placing  of  the  meters  a  house-to-house 
inspection  was  started  which  revealed  many  hundreds  of  leaky  ser- 
vice pipes  and  fixtures,  and  disclosed  many  fixtures  of  which  the 
Department  had  no  record  and  on  which  a  considerable  revenue 
has  since  been  collected. 

The  following  tabulation  contains  the  estimated  resident  and 
summer  populations,  the  average  daily  consumption,  number  of 
services  and  meters  in  use,  percentages  of  services  metered  and 
estimated  per  capita  consumption  during  the  summer  months. 

TABLE  NO.  26. 


Estimated 

rt  o    ja 

Population. 

0-*3  •-•§ 

Average 
Daily 

Number 

Number 

No.-'of 
Servi- 

fe&'^J 

SS^S 

Year. 

Con- 

of 

of 

ces 

V>i° 

Summer 

sumption, 

Services. 

Meters. 

Me- 

^§-,h 

Resident. 

Population, 

Gallons. 

tered. 

Estima 
ita     C 
Gallons 
Summ< 

Average. 

1895-6 

23,000 

125,000 

5,259,152 

3,446 

1,806 

52 

1896-7 

24,000 

125,000 

3,171,321 

3,492 

2,135 

61 

1897-8 

25,000 

125,000 

2,294,787 

3,689 

2,636 

71 

40 

1898-9 

26,000 

150,000 

2,372,457 

3,956 

3,054 

77 

35 

1899-0 

27,500 

150,000 

3,025,723 

4,249 

3,298 

77 

35 

1900-1 

31,500 

150,000 

3,412,854 

4,632 

3,639 

78 

35 

1901-2 

35,500 

150,000 

3,741,176 

4,477 

3,662 

81 

35 

1902-3 

37,500 

125,000 

3,927,401 

4,819 

3,929 

80 

35 

1903-4 

37,500 

125,000 

4,878,591 

4,903 

3,981 

81 

55 

1904-5 

37,600 

125,000 

5,194,339 

5,150 

4,038 

78 

58 

During  the  fiscal  year  ending  August  1st,  1896,  the  introduc- 
tion of  meters  was  commenced  in  February  and  the  1,456  meters 


134 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

placed  were  therefore  set  during  the  last  half  of  the  year,  so  that 
the  checking  of  wastage  did  not  affect  the  first  six  months'  con- 
sumption. By  the  next  year,  however,  with  61  per  cent,  of  the 
services  metered  the  effect  was  decided,  and  during  the  follow- 
ing year,  when  71  per  cent,  were  controlled  by  meters,  the  con- 
sumption dropped  to  less  than  half  what  it  had  been  years 
before. 

It  will  be  seen  that  by  the  checking  of  wastage  the  average 
daily  consumption  has  been  kept  below  the  point  reached  in 
1895  for  nine  years.  In  1898  the  consumption  fell  to  the  fig- 
ures which  had  prevailed  in  1892,  but  has  been  steadily  rising 
until  1905  it  was  about  the  same  as  in  1895.  The  reduc- 
tion in  wastage  affected  the  consumption  in  May  (a  month 
when  the  visiting  population  is  comparatively  small)  in  the  same 
amount  as  that  in  August  (when  the  summer  population  is 
greatest),  the  reduction  being  about  3,000,000  gallons  per  day. 
This  therefore  is  a  measure  of  the  loss  due  to  leaky  fixtures 
and  poor  plumbing,  corrected  in  two  years.  The  reduction 
amounted  to  65  per  cent,  of  the  May  consumption,  and  40  per 
cent,  of  the  August  or  summer  consumption. 

Since  the  time  that  the  low  point  was  reached  in  1898  the 
May  consumption  has  increased  by  3,200,000  and  the  August 
consumption  by  3,900,000  gallons  daily,  the  increase  in  each 
case  being  a  steady  rise,  chargeable  partly  to  increased  popula- 
tion and  partly  to  the  greater  number  of  fixtures  in  use  and 
higher  standards  of  living. 

With  such  a  changeable  population  it  is,  of  course,  impossi- 
ble to  arrive  at  reliable  statements  of  the  per  capita  daily  con- 
sumption. From  a  careful  study  of  the  amounts  of  water 
pumped  each  month  since  1892,  it  would  appear  that  the  sum- 
mer population  uses  about  half  as  much  water  per  capita  as  the 
resident  population  during  the  remainder  of  the  year,  and  the 
amount  used  by  each  class  of  consumers  has  been  increasing 
each  year  in  a  greater  ratio  than  the  increase  of  population.  The 
explanation  of  this  increase  is  not  clear.  Possibly  there  is  still 
considerable  wastage,  notwithstanding  the  metering  of  over 
three-fourths  of  the  consumers.  The  population  is  essentially 
residential,  the  amount  of  water  used  for  public,  trades  and  com- 

135 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

mercial  purposes  being  relatively  insignificant  in  proportion  to 
the  total  amount. 

The  figures  given  in  the  last  column  of  the  table  are  the 
arverage  per  capita  consumptions  for  several  years  during  the 
three  summer  months  as  given  in  the  reports  of  the  Board  of 
Water  Commissioners.  Assuming  these  to  be  approximately 
correct,  the  per  capita  consumption  of  the  residential  population 
during  the  Fall,  Winter  and  Spring  would  have  been  about  65 
to  75  gallons  per  capita,  up  to  1902,  increasing  yearly  to  about 
100  gallons  in  1905. 

Some  trouble  has  been  experienced  with  electrolysis,  the 
action  being  more  extensive  on  service  pipes  than  on  mains, 
numbers  of  services  requiring  renewal  every  year. 

The  cost  of  purchasing  and  setting  1,456  meters  in  1906,  in- 
cluding valves,  fittings  and  labor,  was  $15.19  per  meter. 

In  connection  with  the  installation  of  meters,  Mr.  W.  C. 
Hawley,  Superintendent,  states  in  his  report  to  the  Board  of 
Water  Commissioners  for  1899 :  "The  meters  have  saved 
money,  not  only  for  the  Department,  thus  benefiting  every  tax- 
payer, but  the  large  majority  of  takers  pay  less  under  the  meter 
rates  than  they  formerly  paid  under  the  assessment  rate.  Those 
who  allow  leakage  or  waste  have  to  foot  the  bills  therefor,  and 
the  result  is  that  more  care  is  taken  to  keep  plumbing  in  repair 
and  to  prevent  waste.  Better  plumbing  is  being  put  into 
new  buildings  and  more  care  is  taken  to  build  so  that 
pipes  will  not  be  likely  to  freeze.  But  few  complaints  are  made 
concerning  the  meters  now,  and  strange  to  say,  most  of  these 
are  because  the  meters  have  not  registered  enough.  In  other 
words,  the  consumers  find  it  impossible  to  use  the  whole  amount 
of  water  to  which  the  minimum  rate  entitles  them,  and 
hence  the  complaint,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  minimum  rate 
charged  is  less  than  the  former  assessed  rate." 

When  meters  were  first  introduced  there  was  a  tendency  to 
practice  rigid  economy  in  the  use  of  water,  but  the  consumers 
have  learned  that  this  is  unnecessary,  as  the  minimum  rate  en- 
titles them  to  an  abundance  of  water  for  all  proper  purposes, 
and  the  consumption  consequently  increased  again  up  to  a  fig- 
ure near  what  the  minimum  rate  entitles  them  to. 

136 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

Summary. — The  introduction  of  meters,  coupled  with 
house-to-house  inspections  during  the  first  year,  resulted  in  the 
reduction  of  wastage  to  the  amount  of  55  per  cent,  of  the  sup- 
ply, with  77  per  cent,  of  the  services  metered. 

For  a  number  of  years  there  was  no  material  increase  in  the 
amount  supplied  per  capita,  but  since  1903  there  has  been  an 
upward  tendency.  The  rate  per  capita  in  1905,  based  on  resi- 
dent population,  was  not  over  half  the  rate  in  1896,  before  re- 
strictive measures  were  put  in  force. 

After  the  introduction  of  meters  the  total  average  daily 
consumption  did  not  reach  the  amount  required  in  1896  for 
about  nine  years,  notwithstanding  the  increase  in  population 
and  multitudinous  new  uses  which  have  developed  for  water 
in  recent  years. 

CLEVELAND,  OHIO. 

ONE  of  the  most  interesting  and  successful  campaigns  for 
the  reduction  of  wastage  was  started  in  Cleveland  in 
April,  1902,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  E.  W.  Bemis,  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Water  Works. 

During  the  five  years  ending  in  1901  the  annual  pumpage 
of  the  Department  increased  44  per  cent.,  which  was  over  twice 
as  fast  as  the  increase  of  population  of  the  city;  the  increase 
of  the  use  of  water  in  all  the  factories,  hotels,  apartment  houses 
and  large  stores,  every  one  of  which  was  metered  throughout 
that  period,  was  at  a  somewhat  lesser  rate. 

Cleveland,  like  all  growing  cities,  has  been  for  years  facing 
the  problem  of  increasing  consumption.  As  long  ago  as  1884 
the  report  of  the  trustees  called  attention  to  the  great  waste 
of  water  evident  by  the  amount  consumed,  particularly  in  pro- 
tracted periods  of  cold  weather  in  Winter  and  dry,  hot  weather 
in  Summer,  contrasting  the  water  consumption  in  Cleveland 
with  that  of  several  Eastern  cities  in  which  meters  were  freely 
used  and  showing  a  condition  of  wastefulness  calling  for  vigor- 
ous measures  for  its  abatement. 

Table  27  (see  following  page)  shows  the  estimated  population 
in  the  city  proper  and  suburban  districts  supplied  from  the  Cleve- 

137 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 
TABLE  NO.  27. 


Yeab. 


Pop- 
ulation 
Supplied 
City  and 
Suburbs.* 


Average 

Daily 

Consumption 

of  Water, 

Gallons. 


Average 
Daily 
Con- 
sump- 
tion per 
Con- 
sumer, 
Gals. 


Average 
Daily 
Con- 
stimp- 
tion   per 
Inhabi- 
itant, 
Gals. 


Number 

of 
Services. 


Number 

of 
Meters. 


Per 

Cent. 

of 

Ser- 
vices 

Me- 
tered, 


Per 
Cent. 

of 
Sup- 
ply 
Sold 
by 
Meter 


1857 

1858 
1859 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 


45,000 

46,000 

47,000 

50,000 

53,000 

54,000 

55,000 

60,000 

65,000 

72,000 

80,000 

85,000 

90,000 

100,000 

105,000 

115,000 

118,000 

124,000 

130,000 

134,000 

138,000 

142,000 

150,000 

156,000 

172,000 

180,000 

185,000 

198,000 

200,000 

214,000 

231,000 

243,000 

251,000 

261,000 

290,000 

310,000 

325,000 

345,000 

348,000 

353,000 

355,000 

375,000 

400,000 

400,000 

411,000 

424,000 

438,000 

455,000 


348,664 

398,467 

513,107 

710,984 

881,599 

1,012,794 

1,152,875 

1,300,858 

1,417,153 

1,609,239 

1,907,861 

2,106,265 

2,462,839 

3,085,558 

3,746,907 

4,607,571 

5,095,230 

5,625,150 

6,073,358 

6,573,220 

7,726,920 

7,925,882 

9,446,498 

10,179,461 

13,280,025 

12,313,804 

14,212,144 

16,367,153 

17,950,694 

19,530,611 

22,266,155 

23,199,703 

24,875,236 

27,787,158 

32,237,077 

36,442,989 

42,163,194 

39,491,876 

47,154,366 

45,629,875 

48,379,371 

51,839,816 

61,712,984 

67,087,942 

69,648,383 

69,905,742 

62,010,050 

61,572,022 


111 

93 

91 
105 
114 
121 
117 
124 
123 
124 
116 
116 
120 
113 
125 
132 
138 
141 
137 
131 
142 
135 
146 
145 
162 
136 
137 
138 
139 
137 
140 
130 
105 
129 
136 
143 
158 
134 
151 
142 
150 
149 
169 
173 
174 
173 
145 
138.5 


8 

8 

11 

14 

16 

19 

21 

22 

22 

22 

24 

25 

27 

31 

36 

40 

43 

45 

47 

49 

56 

51 

63 

65 

77 

68 

76 

83 

90 

91 

96 

95 

98 

106 

111 

117 

130 

114 

137 

129 

136 

138 

153 

169 

169 

165 

142 

136 


.8 


49,832 
52,303 
53,473 
55,130 
56,816 
58,852 
60,627 


2,416 

2,617 

2,805 

3,344 

11,099 

25,030 

30,226 


4, 

5. 

5, 

0, 

19 

12 

49 


22.4 
23-6 
25-0 
27-2 
35-3 
39.3 


^Approximate. 


138 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

land  Water  Works,  the  average  daily  consumption  of  water  and 
the  average  daily  consumption  per  inhabitant  and  per  consumer, 
from  1857  to  1904,  inclusive,  the  number  of  services  in  use, 
the  number  of  meters  in  use,  the  percentage  of  services  metered 
and  percentage  of  total  consumption  passing  through  meters 
from  1894  to  1904,  inclusive. 

This  table  is  very  instructive.  Comparing  the  columns  giv- 
ing the  average  daily  consumption  per  inhabitant  and  per  con- 
sumer, it  will  be  seen  that  in  1857  so  few  of  the  properties  in 
the  city  were  taking  water  that  the  per  capita  consumption  was 
only  8  gallons  per  day,  but  that  those  who  did  use  city  water  used 
it  almost  as  extensively  as  at  the  present  time.  This  points  out 
one  of  the  dangers  of  comparing  the  per  capita  consumption  of 
different  cities,  or  of  attempting  to  judge  of  a  city's  needs  at  the 
present  time  by  the  amount  of  water  used  per  capita  during 
former  years. 

The  amount  of  water  used  per  consumer  has  had  a  general 
tendency  to  increase  since  about  1860,  although  between  that 
time  and  1890  there  were  several  years  when  it  dropped  to  as 
low  a  figure  as  prevailed  in  1857.  The  first  evidences  of  persis- 
tent increase  began  about  1890  and  continued  until  about  the 
middle  of  1902.  In  1901  it  became  imperative  to  reduce  the 
wastage,  and  acting  under  an  ordinance  passed  and  approved 
in  August,  1901,  giving  the  Director  of  Public  Works  authority 
at  his  discretion  to  place  meters  on  any  or  all  water  connections, 
both  business  and  residence,  preparations  were  immediately 
made  to  extend  the  meter  system  to  domestic  consumers  as  rap- 
idly as  possible. 

The  city  furnishes,  sets  and  maintains  the  meters,  making 
all  repairs  except  those  arising  from  frozen  meters  when  set 
in  basements,  or  meters  destroyed  by  hot  water,  the  expense  of 
repairing  which  is  collected  from  the  consumer. 

On  January  1st,  1902,  there  were  in  service  3,344  meters, 
of  which  379  belonged  to  consumers.  All  these  meters  were  on 
large  consumers,  such  as  factories,  hotels,  large  stores,  apart- 
ment houses,  etc.  Beginning  in  April,  meters  were  added  rap- 
idly and  by  the  end  of  the  year  7,739  public  and  IG  private  me- 
ters had  been  added,  making  the  total  number  in  use  by  Decem- 

139 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

ber  3Ist,  1902,  11,099,  including  all  sizes,  both  public  and  pri- 
vate. 

Attention  is  particularly  called  to  the  fact  that  at  the  end 
of  1899,  while  only  5  per  cent,  of  the  services  were  metered, 
these  few  meters  were  passing  about  22.4  per  cent,  of  the  total 
pumpage  of  the  city,  the  metered  water  at  that  time  represent- 
ing practically  all  the  manufacturing,  trades,  hotel  and  apart- 
ment house  consumption. 

The  same  condition  obtained  through  1900,  1901  and  the 
first  half  of  1902,  and  the  metered  water  up  to  that  time  did  not 
include  that  taken  by  any  domestic  consumer,  yet  the  per  capita 
consumption  remained  at  a  very  high  figure.  With  the  exten- 
sive introduction  of  meters  on  domestic  and  small  trades  con- 
sumers, in  1902,  an  immediate  reduction  began  to  take  place, 
but  the  number  of  meters  reached  was  not  sufficient  to  show 
in  the  yearly  average  in  a  very  marked  degree.  During  the 
succeeding  year,  1903,  the  number  of  meters  in  use  was  more 
than  doubled  and  by  the  end  of  1904,  nearly  half  the  services 
in  the  city  were  metered  and  about  39  per  cent,  of  the  total  pump- 
age  was  sold  by  measure,  the  per  capita  consumption  having  fallen 
steadily  as  wastage  was  controlled. 

From  1901  to  1904  the  percentage  of  services  metered  in- 
creased from  6.1  to  49.2,  or  43.1  per  cent.,  while  the  percentage 
of  the  total  supply  sold  by  measure  increased  from  25  to  39.3, 
or  14.3  per  cent.  This  increase  was  largely  on  domestic 
consumption.  Since  the  total  pumpage  includes,  in  addition 
to  the  water  used  by  all  consumers,  water  used  for  public  pur- 
poses, loss  by  leakage  from  mains  and  service  pipes,  water  used 
at  the  plant,  under  registration  of  meters,  slip  of  pumps  and 
^aste  by  unmetered  consumers,  the  14.3  per  cent,  increase  in 
total  pumpage  actually  represents  the  metering  of  about  39  per 
cent,  of  the  domestic  consumers.  Assuming  that  the  extension 
of  the  meters  to  the  balance  of  the  domestic  consumers  should 
effect  a  further  reduction  of  wastage  in  proportion  to  that  so 
far  obtained,  there  should  be  attainable  a  total  reduction  of  73 
gallons  per  day,  giving  for  a  probable  reasonable  use  of  water 
for  all  purposes  in  Cleveland  96  gallons  per  capita  daily.  The 
large  trades  and   manufacturing  consumers  apparently   require 

140 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

about  40  gallons  per  capita  daily,  hence  the  probable  attainable 
conditions  in  Cleveland  might  be  expressed  thus: 

Gals. 

Consumption  per  capita  daily  in  1901 169 

Reduction  by  metered  39  per  cent,  of  domestic  consumers    32 
Possible  reduction  if  remainder  were  metered 41     73 

Probable  attainable  average 96 

Manufacturing  and  trades  uses 40 


Balance,  for  domestic  consumption "|   gg 

Public  uses  and  unaccounted-for  water 


] 


If  of  this  we  assume  that  20  per  cent,  of  the  total  pumpage 
cannot  be  accounted  for,  an  assumption  not  unreasonable  when 
viewed  in  the  light  of  the  experience  of  other  cities  using 
pumped  supplies  and  with  complete  meterage,  there  should  be 
deducted  from  the  56  gallons  20  gallons  per  capita  per  day, 
leaving  36  gallons  to  represent  the  domestic  consumption  and 
water  used  for  public  purposes.  The  amount  of  water  used 
for  public  purposes  in  Cleveland  is  greater  than  in  many  of  our 
large  Eastern  cities.  No  exact  local  data  are  obtainable,  but 
judging  from  the  conditions  in  other  cities  an  allowance  of 
about  10  gallons  per  capita  would  probably  be  sufficient. 

The  total  daily  per  capita  consumption  on  these  conditions 
would  therefore  be  constituted  as  follows : 

Water  for  manufacturing  and  trades  purposes 40 

Water  for  domestic  consumption 26 

Water  for  public  uses 10 

Under-registration  of  meters,  leakage  from  mains,  water  used 

at  plant,  slip  of  pumps,  and  all  other  losses 20 

Total 96 

In  his  report  for  1904  ^Ir.  Bemis  reaches,  on  the  following 
basis,  the  decision  that  about  30  per  cent,  of  the  pumpage  for 
that  year  was  wastage: 

Total  metered  water,  24,206,160  gallons  per  day  or,  54.4  gal- 
lons per  capita.  Of  this,  35.3  gallons  per  day  are  used  by  654 
large  consumers,  leaving  19.2  gallons  per  day  per  capita  as  the 

141 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

amount  used  by  the  23,658  small  metered  services.  If  the  30,000 
remaining  unmetered  services  would  use  water  at  the  same 
rate,  after  metering,  the  balance  of  the  consumption  per  day 
would  be  5,760,000  gallons,  making  a  total  of  29,876,000  gallons 
for  the  entire  city.  This  is  48.5  per  cent,  of  the  pumpage  in 
1904.  He  then  estimates  the  public  uses  to  be  not  over  6  per 
cent.,  and  the  loss  by  leakage,  slip  of  pumps,  etc.,  at  15  per 
cent.,  leaving  30  per  cent,  as  the  probable  preventable  waste, 
or,  in  tabular  form: 

Gals, 
per  cap. 

Water  for  consumers,  domestic,  and  trades 66.0 

"        *'      public    uses , 8.0 

"        "      leakage,  slip  of  pumps,  etc 21.0 

Probable   total    consumption 95 . 0 

Pumpage  in  1904 136.0 

Preventable  waste  from  1904  pumpage 41.0 

The  detailed  effect  of  the  introduction  of  meters  is  exhibited 
very  clearly  in  the  following  diagram,  which  shows  the  average 
daily  per  capita  consumption  of  water  per  inhabitant  each 
month  during  1900-1904  inclusive,  and  the  number  of  meters  in 
use  at  the  end  of  each  month  for  the  same  period. 

The  cost  of  meter  setting  in  Cleveland  has  been  kept  in  great 
detail.  For  1904  the  cost  of  the  ^-inch  meters  is  given  as  fol- 
lows: 

COST  OF  5^-INCH  METERS  IN   CLEVELAND. 


Nature  of 

Number 
Set. 

Cost  Per  Meter 
For 

Total 
Cost  of 
Setting. 

Cost  of 
Each 
Meter. 

Total 
Average 
Cost  For 

Setting. 

Material. 

Labor. 

One  Meter, 
Complete- 
ly Installed 

Basement 

Sewer  pipe .... 
Brick  vaults.  . . 

1,791 

2,584 

336 

$0.57 
3.75 
5.80 

$4.37 
5.64 
7.59 

$4.94 

9.39 

13.39 

$6.50 
6.50 
6.50 

$11.44 
15.89 
19.89 

For  each  size  set  the  average  costs  are  said  to  have  been  as 
follows : 


142 


AVERAGE  DAILY  PER  CAPITA  CONSUMPTION  OF  WATER  PER  INHABITANT 

0060  000 


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■(UMBER  OF  METERS  IN  USE  AT  END  OF  EACH  MONTH 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 
AVERAGE  COST   OF  METERS   IN   CLEVELAND. 


Size. 


6". 
2". 

r- 
r. 


Nature  of  Setting. 


Brick  vault 


Box 

Basement. . 
Brick  vault 

Box 

Basement. . 
Brick  vatilt , 

Box 

Basement . . 
Brick  vault , 

Box 

Basement. . 
Brick  vault , 

Box 

Basement. . 
Brick  vault . 
Sewer  pipe. 
Basement. . 
Brick  vault , 
Sewer  pipe. 
Basement. . 


Number 
Set. 


8 

108 

8 

15 

148 

3 

24 

336 

8 

83 

385 

2 

102 

738 


204 

1,569 

59 

393 

1,907 

12,529 

11,225 


Average 

Average 

Cost  of 

Cost  of 

Meters. 

Setting. 

$406.25 

$43.50 

226.46 

38.25 

226.46 

33.00 

226.46 

21.19 

91.26 

30.54 

91.26 

25.00 

91.26 

9.95 

44.93 

25.08 

44.93 

18.00 

44.93 

11.51 

37.37 

18.23 

37.37 

18.00 

37.37 

12.03 

27.01 

16.25 

'27.61 

**8'.52 

15.74 

16.61 

15.74 

8.07 

15.74 

4.83 

6.53 

10.15 

6.53 

8.23 

6.53 

3.96 

Total 

Average 

Cost. 


$449.75 

264.71 

259.46 

247 . 65 

121.80 

116.26 

101.21 

70.01 

62.93 

56.44 

56.60 

55.37 

49.40 

43.26 

"  35 . 53 
32.35 
23.81 
20.57 
16.68 
14.76 
10.49 


The  prices  for  the  meters  in  the  above  table  are  those  of  recent 

purchases. 
The  cost  of  setting  is  the  average  of  the  costs  of  1903  and  1904. 

The  total  cost  of  all  meters  (29,854)   was $311,157.50 

The  total  cost  of  setting  all  meters  was 233,839.82 

$544,997.32 
The  average  cost  per  meter  based  on  total  number  set 
of  all  sizes $18.25 

The  cost  of  maintenance  and  repairs  of  meters,  including  re- 
movals, replacements,  damages  due  to  frost,  and  to  hot 
water,  renewals  of  parts,  etc.,  for  labor  and  materials,  was 

for    1903    $13,196.21 

And  for  1904,  excluding  the  damages  from  frost 10,725.30 

The  damage  from  frost  in  1904  cost  to  repair 28,361.38 

The  damage  from  frost  was  confined  almost  entirely  to  the 
^-inch  meters  set  in  sewer  pipes,  the  protection  afforded  by  the 
single  cover  not  being  sufficient  to  prevent  the  freezing  of  the 
meter  and  connections.  An  improved  setting  has  been  perfected 
by  which  the  expense  chargeable  to  freezing  will  be  reduced  to 
a   minimum.      Excluding  the   excessive   damage   done   by    frost 

143 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

in  1904,  the  average  cost  of  maintenance  has  been  about  2j4 
per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  all  the  meters  in  use. 

In  order  to  still  further  control  wastage  the  Board  of  Public 
Service  during  1904  metered  practically  all  services  larger  than 
^  inch,  supplying  public  buildings,  the  Park  Department,  etc. 

Public  and  parochial  schools  are  allowed  the  free  use  of 
an  amount  of  water  equal  to  10  gallons  per  capita  upon  the 
attendance  at  the  schools  for  the  number  of  days  the  schools 
were  in  session;  all  water  used  in  excess  of  that  quantity  is 
charged  for  at  regular  meter  rates.  Similarly,  40  gallons  per 
capita  per  day  are  allowed  free  to  certain  classes  of  charities 
covered  by  the  State  law  requiring  free  service,  and  150  gallons 
per  day  per  capita  to  the  hospitals. 

Under  a  resolution  passed  September  2d,  1904,  the  Board 
of  Public  Service  gives  the  Superintendent  of  the  Water  Works 
power  at  his  discretion  to  meter,  at  the  cost  of  the  Water  De- 
partment, all  services,  both  residence  and  business,  an  ordinance 
having  been  passed  in  April  of  the  same  year  in  which  it  was 
provided  that  private  residences  should  only  be  metered  at  the 
request  of  the  consumer.  This  latter  ordinance  was  passed 
following  the  scare  arising  from  the^  freezing  of  the  meters, 
to  restrict  the  Department  from  placing  meters  except  when 
proof  was  to  be  had  of  the  excessive  waste,  or  where  consumers 
desired  meters. 

The  effect  of  the  passage  of  the  last  mentioned  ordinance 
was  to  stop,  temporarily,  the  rapid  introduction  of  meters  and 
check  the  reduction  of  waste.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  year 
the  rate  of  introduction  again  increased,  as  will  be  seen  from 
the  diagram  showing  the  per  capita  consumption  and  meters. 

The  rate  for  metered  water  is  uniform  for  all  premises,  as 
follows : 


144 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

METER  FURNISHED  AND  SET  BY  CITY. 

Rate :  40  cents  per  1,000  cubic  feet.    Minimum  charges : 
5^-inch  metered  connection,  $  1.25  semi-annually  where  semi-annual  as- 
sessment rate  is  $3.50  or  less. 
"  *'  2.50  semi-annually  in  all  other  cases. 

"  "  5.00  semi-annually. 

6.00       " 


1 

2 
3 
4 
€ 


8.00 
10.00 
15.00 
20.00 
30.00 


METER  FURNISHED   AND    SET    BY    CONSUMER. 
Rate :  40  cents  per  1,000  cubic  feet.     Minimum  charges  : 

^-inch  meter   $2.50  semi-annually 

All   large   meters 4.00      "  " 

All  payments  for  water,  either  on  metered  or  assessment 
basis,  are  made  in  advance  upon  an  estimate  of  the  Superinten- 
dent, based  upon  the  probable  use  of  water  during  the  ensuing 
six  months  or  less,  as  the  case  may  be. 

If  meters  fail  to  register,  or  if  they  get  out  of  order,  the 
consumer  is  charged  at  the  rate  of  average  daily  consumption 
shown  by  the  meter  when  in  order.  All  water  passing  through 
the  meter  is  charged  for,  whether  used  or  not. 

Upon  a  written  request  to  the  Superintendent  by  any  con- 
sumer, accompanied  by  an  inspection  fee  of  $1.00  for  meters  1- 
inch  and  smaller,  $3.00  for  meters  from  over  1  inch  and  under 
6  inches,  or  $10.00  for  6-inch  meters,  the  Department  will  take 
the  meter  to  its  office  and  test  it.  If  the  meter  is  found  to  over- 
register  the  inspection  fee  is  returned  to  the  consumer  and  a 
reduction  made  in  the  current  bill  to  correspond  with  the  facts. 
If  the  meter  does  not  over-register  the  fee  is  retained  for  the 
■expense  of  testing. 

All  meters  are  sealed  and  if  there  is  good  evidence  that  a 
meter  has  been  tampered  with  the  water  is  turned  ofif  and  not 
turned  on  again  until  the  payment  of  $1.00  and  an  advance 
•deposit  of  twice  the  amount  otherwise  required  has  been  made. 

145 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

In  such  cases  the  owner  or  consumer  also  has  to  pay  for  the 
estimated  quantity  of  water  not  registered  because  of  the  tam- 
pering with  the  meter. 

DETROIT,  MICH, 

UNTIL  about  1868,  the  per  capita  consumption  of  water 
in  Detroit  had  been  less  than  60  gallons  per  day.  After 
that  year  the  rate  of  consumption  increased  almost  constantly, 
until  twenty  years  later  it  had  reached  an  average  of  210  gallons 
per  capita  per  day,  with  a  maximum  on  certain  days  of  250 
gallons.  During  this  period  the  population  had  increased  158 
per  cent.,  while  the  amount  of  water  pumped  had  increased 
755  per  cent,  and  the  amount  pumped  per  capita  234  per  cent., 
an  unreasonable  increase,  since  the  character  of  the  city  had 
not  changed  sufficiently  to  account  for  the  excess  in  a  legitimate 
manner. 

In  1899  the  city  was  confronted  with  the  alternatives  of 
either  increasing  the  capacity  of  the  plant  or  reducing  the  waste 
of  water,  and  after  careful  consideration  the  Board  of  Water 
Commissioners  directed  Mr.  L.  N.  Case,  then  Secretary  and 
afterward  General  Manager,  to  co-operate  with  the  Superin- 
tendent in  devising  means  of  preventing  the  rapidly  increasing 
waste. 

In  April,  1899,  therefore,  eight  inspectors  were  appointed 
for  house-to-house  inspection,  to  locate  leaks  and  leaky  fixtures. 
Previous  to  starting  the  work  of  inspection  a  large  number  of 
circulars,  urging  the  citizens  to  co-operate  with  the  Water 
Board  in  suppressing  the  needless  waste,  had  been  printed,  and 
were  distributed  to  every  dwelling,  workshop,  store,  office,  fac- 
tory and  manufacturing  place  in  the  city.  The  result  of  this 
appeal  was  quickly  felt  in  the  pumping  station,  the  amount  of 
water  pumped  per  day  beginning  to  decrease  almost  immedi- 
ately. 

When  the  house-to-house  inspections  were  inaugurated, 
preparations  were  made  for  the  placing  of  meters  on  all  proper- 
ties having  partial  or  indefinite  supply.  In  order  that  proper 
control  could  be  had  over  the  different  services,  a  systematic 

146 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

examination  was  made  of  all  shut-off  boxes  and  those  found 
out  of  order  were  repaired  or  replaced. 

This  inspection  bureau  was  maintained  in  an  active,  aggres- 
sive condition  for  several  years;  but  after  1897  the  duties  of  the 
inspectors  had  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  it  became  im- 
possible for  them  to  give  as  much  attention  to  the  finding  of 
leaks  and  detection  of  waste  as  they  had  done  in  previous  years. 

The  work  of  the  inspectors  was  of  great  value  not  only  in 
finding  and  stopping  waste  and  leaks,  but  also  in  locating  many 
fixtures  of  which  the  Department  had  no  record  and  for  which 
no  revenue  had  been  derived.  When  a  leak  or  an  excessive 
wastage  was  found  a  notice  would  be  served  upon  the  house- 
holder stating  a  date  upon  which  the  second  inspection  would 
be  made  and  if  the  leak  had  not  been  stopped  on  the  second  visit 
the  water  would  be  shut  off  until  the  plumbing  was  put  in  good 
order.  In  cases  where  the  poverty  of  the  householder  could  be 
urged  as  an  excuse  for  the  delay,  extensions  would  occasionally 
be  granted  and  a  third  visit  made  at  a  later  date. 

Meters  were  first  applied  to  livery  stables,  laundries,  brew- 
eries, saloons  and  manufacturing  establishments,  and  later  to 
the  principal  stores  and  to  dwellings  where  excessive  waste  was 
detected.  Within  two  years  from  the  time  metering  was  first 
commenced  many  meters  were  placed  on  premises  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  householders;  and  by  1897,  upwards  of  one  thou- 
sand were  in  use  on  the  services  of  dwellings. 

In  that  year,  owing  to  the  discrepancies  between  the  meter 
rates  and  assessment  rates  for  domestic  uses  many  of  the  houses 
were  restored  to  assessment  rates,  the  meters  being  allowed  to 
remain  on  the  services  as  checks  on  the  wastage.  Since  1897 
these  meters  have  been  gradually  removed  and  placed  on  business 
properties,  so  that  in  1905  but  171  meters  remained  in  place  on 
the  services  of  premises  which  had  been  restored  to  assessment 
rates.  The  metering  of  domestic  services  practically  stopped  in 
1897. 

In  1896  investigations  were  made,  with  Deacon  meters,  to 
locate  districts  of  excessive  wastage.  These  investigations 
brought  out,  prominently,  that  most  of  the  water  wasted  in  the 
districts  examined  was  chargeable  to  a  very  few  careless  and  ex- 

147 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

travagant  consumers,  the  majority  of  the  consumers  keeping  their 
plumbing  in  order  and  being  reasonably  careful  not  to  unneces- 
sarily waste  the  water. 

As  in  all  other  cities  where  such  investigations  have  been 
made  the  water-closet  and  the  leaky  faucet  were  found  to  be 
among  the  principal  sources  of  waste. 

The  placing  of  meters  has  had  the  effect  of  reducing  waste  in 
the  houses  and  also  of  aiding  in  locating  leaks  in  service  pipes, 
between  the  meters  and  the  house-piping,  many  of  these  having 
been  underground  and  invisible,  although,  in  some  cases,  of  con- 
siderable magnitude. 

In  1894  the  meter  system  was  extended  to  public  buildings, 
hospitals  and  charitable  institutions,  resulting  in  the  checking  of 
enormous  wastage. 

Since  1897  the  practice  of  allowing  domestic  consumers  to 
pay  according  to  assessment  rates  instead  of  meter  rates  has  re- 
sulted in  the  gradual  removal  of  the  domestic  meters  and  the  plac- 
ing of  the  meters  thus  removed  upon  the  services  supplying  places 
of  business.  In  many  premises  which  had  been  placed  on  the 
assessment  roll  the  meter  showed  that  the  occupants  had  again 
become  recklessly  wasteful,  the  consumption  jumping  up  from 
ten  or  twelve  thousand  gallons  per  quarter  to  nearly  three  hun- 
dred thousand  gallons  in  the  same  length  of  time.  Such  places 
would  be  restored  to  meter  rates  until  the  consumption  had  again 
been  reduced  to  a  legitimate  amount.  The  effect  of  the  meters 
in  restraining  waste  is  well  shown  by  the  following  comparison 
of  the  per  capita  consumption  in  35  residences,  for  a  year,  paying 
by  assessment  rates  and  the  same  houses,  for  the  same  length  oi 
time,  paying  by  meter  rates. 

Paying   by   assessment   rates, — 106   gallons   per   diem   per   capita. 

In  the  houses  when  paying  by  assessment  rates  the  meters  were 
still  in  place  and  the  consumption  measured  thereby  and  their 
presence  undoubtedly  exerted  a  restraining  influence  on  wasteful 
tendencies. 

In  1901  it  became  necessary  to  transfer  176  consumers  back 

148 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

to  the  meter  rates  on  account  of  their  large  consumption.  In  the 
case  of  one  private  family  the  meter  indicated  a  consumption  of 
435,000  gallons  in  three  months,  while  after  transference  back  to 
meter  rates  the  consumption  decreased  to  9,000  gallons  for  the 
same  length  of  time. 

In  1902  sixty  premises  were  placed  back  on  meter  rates  and 
in  1903,  41  premises.  Since  that  year  there  is  no  record  in  the 
published  reports  of  the  re-establishment  of  meter  rates  in  the 
case  of  domestic  consumers  transferred  to  assessment  rates.  Table 
28  (see  next  page)  gives  the  quantity  of  water  pumped  each  year, 
since  1860 ;  the  per  capita  consumption,  based  on  the  U.  S.  Census 
returns  for  1860,  1870,  1880,  and  1890,  and  the  State  Census  of 
1894;/ the  number  of  meters  in  place  each  year  since  their  intro- 
duction in  1888,  and  the  percentage  of  the  total  pumpage  meas- 
ured through  meters. 

In  1888  the  average  consumption  for  the  year  was  210  gallons 
per  capita  per  day.  In  1897  by  persistent  and  careful  inspection, 
stringent  enforcement  of  regulations  and  the  placing  of  meters  on 
wasteful  consumers  the  consumption  had  been  reduced  to  136  gal- 
lons per  capita  per  day,  with  only  5,400  meters  in  service  and  about 
20  per  cent,  of  the  consumption  metered.  During  the  latter  part  of 
that  year  began  the  transference  back  to  assessment  rates  of  domes- 
tic consumers  who  had  previously  paid  by  meter  rates ;  and  thij 
practice  has  continued  up  to  the  present  time,  so  that  in  1905  com< 
paratively  few  domestic  consumers  were  paying  by  meter  rates. 
Thus,  while  the  total  number  of  meters  in  use  has  steadily  in- 
creased each  year  the  increase  since  1897  has  been  on  business 
and  manufacturing  consumers  while  the  number  of  metered  do- 
mestic consumers  has  decreased.  Since  1897  the  daily  per  capita 
consumption  has  steadily  increased  until  in  1905  it  had  reached 
an  average  figure  as  high  as  prevailed  in  1899,  the  year  when 
waste  restriction  was  undertaken,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  there 
were  more  meters  in  use  than  in  1897,  which  was  the  year  of  low- 
est relative  consumption  since  1881. 

The  explanation  of  this  increase  in  consumption  may  possibly 
be  found  partly  in  the  relaxation  of  the  work  of  house-to-house 
inspection  and  perhaps  more  largely  in  the  taking  out  of  the  me- 
ters formerly  placed  on  wasteful  domestic  consumers. 

149 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


TABLE  NO,  28, 

PUMPAGE,  CONSUMPTION   AND   METERS,   DETROIT. 


Popula- 
tion Used. 


C.  45,619 

49,000 

52,400 

55,800 

59,200 

62,600 

66,000 

69,400 

72,800 

76,200 

C.  79,577 

83,200 

86,900 

90,600 

94,300 

98,000 

101,700 

105,400 

109,100 

112,800 

C.  116,340 

125,000 

134,000 

143,000 

152,000 

161,000 

170,000 

179,000 

188,000 

197,000 

C.  205,876 

213,000 

221,000 

229,000 

237,000 

245,000 

253,000 

261,000 

269,000 

277,000 

C.  285,704 

296,000 

307,000 

S.  317,600 

327,000 


Years. 


1860 

1861 

1862 

1863 

1864 

1865 

1866 

1867 

1868 

1869 

1870 

1871 

1872 

1873 

1874 

1875 

1876 

1877 

1878 

1879 

1880 

1881 

1882 

1883 

1884 

1885 

1886 

1887 

1888 

1889 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1900 

July,  1901,  to  July,  1902 
July,  1902,  to  July,  1903 
July,  1903,  to  July,  1904 
July,  1904,  to  July,  1905 


Water  Pumped, 
IN  Gallons. 


Total  Quantity. 


870 

895 

994 

1,035 

1,019 

1,040 

1,196 

1,425 

1,666. 

1,946 

1,866, 

2,300, 

2,782, 

3,198, 

3,289, 

4,207, 

4,065, 

4,213, 

4,345, 

5,129, 

5,552, 

6,543, 

6,284, 

7,379, 

8,510, 

9,970, 

10,576, 

13,168, 

14,380, 

12,875, 

12,120, 

12,057, 

12,276, 

13,877, 

13,649, 

14,698, 

13,254, 

12,928, 

14,278, 

16,348, 

17,077, 

18,333, 

18,757, 

21,323, 

21,566, 


,036,451 

,129,423 

,945,329 

,798,043 

,390,256 

,514,887 

,317,922 

,535,230 

,545,125 

,810,325 

,060,068 

,150,605 

,292,578 

,393,948 

,872,635 

,454,260 

,134,470 

,239,790 

,743,330 

,599,110 

,965,310 

,127,968 

,000,742 

,327,788 

,614,140 

,829,580 

,571,254 

,859,808 

,166,670 

,334,453 

,944,532 

,261,236 

,612,482 

,977,208 

,779,605 

,451,954 

,369,371 

,821,326 

,682,058 

,062,701 

100,477 

104,706 

682,360 

839,222t 

461,863t 


Per 
Capita, 
Daily.* 


52 

50 

52 

51 

47 

46 

50 

54 

63 

70 

64 

76 

88 

97 

96 

118 

110 

110 

109 

125 

131 

144 

129 

141 

154 

170 

170 

202 

210 

180 

161 

155 

152 

166 

158 

165 

144 

136 

146 

162 

164 

170 

168 

183 

181 


No.  of 
Me- 
ters 
in 

Place. 


48 
194 
866 
,239 


186 
775 
585 
392 
470 
555 
635 
738 
847 
957 
076 


Percent- 
age of 
Supply 
Passed 
through 
Meters. 


Population:   C=U.  S.  Census. 
S^State  Census. 
♦Based  on  population  given. 

t411, 115,012  gallons  delivered  outside  Detroit;  deducted  from  total 
pumped. 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 


THE  FOLLOWING  TABLE  SHOWS  THAT  AS  THE  NUMBER  OF 
METERS   REMOVED   FROM   DOMESTIC  CONSUMERS  AND 
PLACED    ON    BUSINESS    SERVICES    INCREASED,    THE 
PER     CAPITA     CONSUMPTION     OF     WATER     IN- 
CREASED    GREATLY     COINCIDENTLY     THERE- 
WITH. 


Number  of 

Total  No. 

Ntimber  of 

Consumers 

of  Meters 

Daily 

Total  No. 

Meters  From 

Restored  to 

Removed 

Average 

Year. 

of  Meters 

Which 

Assessment 

from  Do- 

Consumption 

in  Place. 

Revenue 

Rates,  Meters 

mestic  Con- 

Per  Capita, 

was 

being  still 

svmiers,    to 

Gallons. 

Derived. 

in  Place. 

Year 
Indicated. 

1894 

3,186 

3,188 

158 

1895 

3,775 

3,775 

165 

1896 

4,585 

4,585 

144 

1897 

5,392 

5,392 

136 

1898 

5,470 

4,325 

1,045 

146 

1899 

5,555 

4,442 

1,113 

162 

1900-01*.... 

5,635 

4,828 

807 

306 

164 

1901-02 

5,738 

5,081 

656 

457 

170 

1902-03 

5,847 

5,337 

510 

603 

168 

1903-04 

5,957 

5,774 

373 

740 

183 

1904-05 

6,076 

5,905 

171 

942 

181 

♦Fiscal  year  changed  to  end  June  30th,  1901,  instead  of  December 

31st,  1900. 
In  succeeding  years,  fiscal  years  end  June  30th. 


Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  coincident  with  the  allowing  of  domes- 
tic consumers  to  return  to  assessment  rates  the  per  capita  consump- 
tion began  to  increase  and  continued  to  increase  coincidently  with 
the  removal  of  the  meters  from  such  consumers  until  it  had,  in 
five  years,  reached  approximately  the  figures  obtaining  fifteen 
years  earlier. 

The  temptation  is  very  strong  to  accept  this  explanation.  It 
is  a  fact,  however,  that  the  rate  of  consumption  in  Detroit  has 
been  increasing,  from  some  legitimate,  undetermined  cause,  as 
the  increase  of  metered  consumption  in  1899  over  1898  was 
greater  than  the  increase  in  the  unmetered  consumption,  while 
the  capacity  of  ihe  meters  in  use  in  1899  was  practically  the  same 
as  in  1898. 

151 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

Total  metered  water  in  1899 3,425,487,986  gals. 

"       "      1898 2,792,842,000     " 

Increased  use  of  metered  water 22.6  per  cent 

Total  unmetered  water  in  1899 12,867,900,465  gals. 

1898 11,470,788,658     " 

Increased  use  of  unmetered  water 12.2  per  cent. 

In  1899  21  per  cent,  of  the  total  supply  was  metered. 
In  1898  19 

On  examining  the  reports  of  the  inspection  work  it  is  appar- 
ent that  the  amounts  charged  to  inspections  since  1897  have  been 
nearly  double,  per  capita,  the  amounts  charged  prior  to  that  time, 
while  the  reports  of  work  done  by  the  inspectors  indicate  that 
after  1897  the  number  of  inspections  made  to  discover  leaks  has 
been,  on  the  average,  only  about  one-third  as  many  per  year  as 
during  the  years  prior  to  1897,  and  the  number  of  leaks  reported 
proportionately  smaller.  On  the  other  hand,  the  inspectors  have 
had  numerous  additional  duties  assigned  to  them  as  the  result  of 
the  change  in  the  policy  of  the  department. 

Up  to  and  including  1897  the  cost  of  the  meters  and  their  in- 
stallation amounted  to  $158,925,  or  an  average  of  about  $29  per 
meter.  Since  that  time  about  950  meters  have  been  taken  off  of 
domestic  consumers  and  reset  on  business  properties  and  nearly 
750  new  meters  have  been  furnished  and  set. 

It  is  impossible,  therefore,  to  arrive  at  the  cost  of  meters  since 
1897.  The  total  amount  charged  to  the  meter  account  for  meters 
and  setting,  from  1889  to  1905  inclusive,  has  been  $234,923.78, 
during  which  time  there  were  set  about  6,000  meters,  many  of 
these  having  been  originally  placed  on  the  premises  of  domestic 
consumers  and  in  later  years  removed  and  reset  on  business  prop- 
erties. 

The  net  results  of  the  efforts  at  waste  reduction  in  Detroit 
may  therefore  be  summed  up  as  follows: 

For  9  years,  from  1889  to  1897  inclusive,  under  the  general 
management  of  Mr.  L.  N.  Case,  the  per  capita  consumption  was 
gradually  reduced  from  210  gallons  to  136  gallons  per  day,  a  re- 
duction of  about  74  gallons  per  capita  or  about  35  per  cent,  while 
the  population  of  the  city  had  increased  about  33  per  cent  during 
the  same  length  of  time. 

152 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

This  result  was  accomplished  by  complete  inspections  of  all 
premises  and  the  placing  of  meters  on  wasteful  consumers.  So 
long  as  this  policy  was  continued  the  wastage  was  controlled  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  keep  the  per  capita  consumption  below  165 
gallons  per  day. 

The  average  cost  for  this  work,  for  the  meters,  their  installa- 
tion, and  the  inspection  bureau  was  about  $21,000  per  year. 

The  estimated  value  of  the  water  saved  during  that  time, 
assuming  the  per  capita  consumption  to  have  remained  at  the 
figure  reached  in  1889,  was  about  five  times  the  cost  of  the  Meter 
and  Inspection  Bureaus. 

The  good  results  thus  obtained  have  not  been  permanent,  as, 
although  practically  the  same  amount  has  been  spent  annually 
during  the  seven  years  from  1898  to  1905  inclusive  as  during  the 
earlier  period,  the  per  capita  consumption  has  again  rapidly 
mounted  to  almost  as  high  figures  as  prevailed  before  waste  re- 
duction methods  were  put  in  force,  although  more  meters  are  in 
service  than  during  the  earlier  period. 

Whether  this  increase  has  been  entirely  chargeable  to  the 
smaller  number  of  inspections  made  and  to  the  restoring  to  assess- 
ment rates  of  domestic  consumers  who  were  previously  placed 
on  the  meter  rolls  is  not  entirely  proven.  That  the  circumstances 
are  significant  there  can  be  no  doubt  and  the  only  way  by  which 
the  connection  could  be  conclusively  proven  would  be  to  adopt 
again  the  former  policy  of  metering  wasteful  domestic  consumers, 
resume,  persistently,  the  house-to-house  inspections  and  observe 
the  results. 

li  the  removal  of  about  1,000  domestic  meters  and  the  relaxa- 
tion of  inspections  has  caused  this  apparent  relapse  to  the  old- 
time  wastefulness  the  cost  of  placing  these  meters  back,  with 
$10,000  per  year  additional  for  the  cost  of  extra  inspections, 
would  be  well  repaid. 

The  situation,  however,  is  a  difficult  one,  for  the  minimum 
meter  rates  for  domestic  consumers  is  $7  per  year  while  the  ma- 
jority of  houses,  at  assessment  rates,  would  pay  a  smaller  amount. 
There  is,  therefore,  little  incentive  on  the  part  of  domestic  con- 
sumers to  have  meters  placed  on  their  services,  and  although  the 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

authorities  can  place  meters  where  wastefulness  prevails  they 
cannot  compel  the  domestic  consumer  to  allow  the  meter  to  re- 
main if  the  meter  readings  do  not  show  wastefulness  or  extrava- 
gant use.  A  wasteful  consumer  on  whose  service  a  meter  is 
placed  can,  therefore,  by  preventing  waste  for  a  short  while  have 
the  meter  removed  and  again  revert  to  his  former  careless  waste- 
fulness when  restored  to  assessment  rates. 

It  is  impossible,  from  the  Annual  Reports  of  the  Department, 
to  determine  whether  or  not  the  increase  in  consumption  for  busi- 
ness and  manufacturing  purposes  will  account  for  a  significant 
proportion  of  the  total  increase,  but  with  only  about  26  or  27  per 
cent  of  the  total  supply  metered  it  seems  unlikely  that  it  can  all 
be  accounted  for  in  this  manner. 


FALL  RIVER,  MASS. 

IN  Fall  River  waste  reduction  began  more  than  thirty  years  ago. 
In  1874  when  there  were  but  6,000  consumers  of  Wautuppa 
Lake  water  the  per  capita  consumption  among  the  consumers  was 
84.53  gallons  per  day,  only  about  8  per  cent,  of  the  services  being 
metered.  Each  year  thereafter  more  meters  were  added  until, 
in  1879,  with  about  55  per  cent  of  the  services  metered  the  con- 
sumption had  dropped  to  35.6  gallons  per  capita,  a  reduction  of 
58  per  cent.  In  1882  with  63  per  cent  of  the  services  metered  it 
climbed  up  again  to  45.9  gallons  per  capita,  falling  gradually  to 
26.89  gallons  in  1887  with  70  per  cent  of  the  services  metered. 
From  1887  to  1902  it  has  remained  at  between  30  and  40  gallons 
per  day. 

The  following  table  contains  the  number  of  consumers,  aver- 
age daily  consumption  of  water,  average  daily  consumption  per 
consumer  per  day,  number  of  services,  number  of  meters  in  use, 
and  percentage  of  meters  to  services  each  year  from  1874  to  1902. 


154 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

TABLE  NO.  29. 

SUPPLY  FROM  WAUTUPPA  LAKE;  PUMPED. 


Average 

Percent- 

Average 

Number 

Daily 

Number 

Number 

age  of  Me- 

Year. 

Daily 

of 

Consump- 

of 

of 

ters  to 

Consumption. 

Consumers. 

tion  per 
Consvuner. 

Services. 

Meters. 

Services. 

1874.... 

507,168 

6,000 

84.53 

672 

53 

8 

1875.... 

810,980 

11,450 

70.38 

1,147 

193 

17 

1876. . .  . 

1,057,704 

22,000 

48.08 

1,660 

585 

35 

1877.... 

1,173,601 

28,000 

41.91 

2,066 

881 

43 

1878.... 

1,204,217 

33,000 

36.49 

2,324 

1,165 

50 

1879.... 

1,263,925 

35,500 

35.60 

2,497 

1,372 

55 

1880. . .  . 

1,353,641 

36,440 

37.15 

2,685 

1,583 

59 

1881.... 

1,488,247 

38,120 

39.04 

2,906 

1,780 

61 

1882.... 

1,830,801 

39,891 

45.90 

3,120 

1,966 

63 

1883.... 

1,640,481 

43,091 

38.07 

3,370 

2,187 

65 

1884.... 

1,425,861 

43,733 

32.60 

3,611 

2,421 

67 

1885.... 

1,488,137 

48,200 

30.87 

3,818 

2,569 

68 

1886.... 

1,603,482 

50,420 

31.80 

3,986 

2,725 

69 

1887.... 

1,590,960 

59,155 

26.89 

4,197 

2,941 

70 

1888.... 

1,768,524 

60,524 

29.22 

4,412 

3,138 

71 

1889.... 

1,877,937 

64,000 

29.34 

4,698 

3,428 

73 

1890.... 

2,136,182 

69,000 

30.96 

4,980 

3,717 

75 

1891.... 

2,355,700 

71,000 

33.18 

5,247 

3,975 

76 

1892.... 

2,285,948 

76,000 

30.08 

5,526 

4,252 

77 

1893.... 

2,333,888 

81,000 

28.81 

5,793 

4,529 

78 

1894.... 

2,438,231 

85,576 

28.49 

6,138 

4,887 

80 

1895...  . 

3,166,509 

86,076 

36.79 

6,372 

5,212 

82 

1896...  . 

3,547,287 

94,000 

37.74 

6,704 

5,607 

83 

1897.... 

3,669,640 

97,500 

37,64 

6,422 

5,954 

93 

1898.... 

3,136,049 

94,267 

33.26 

6,576 

6,128 

93 

1899.... 

3,580,895 

98,931 

36.20 

6,783 

6,363 

93 

1900. . .  . 

3,804,867 

104,523 

36.40 

6,943 

6,544 

94 

1901.... 

3,618,739 

106,631 

33.94 

7,075 

6,755 

95 

1902.... 

4,365,065 

107,653 

40.54 

7,282 

6,973 

95 

1902  number  of  consumers  per  service  =  14.8. 

In  connection  with  the  introduction  of  meters  the  Wautuppa 
Water  Board  has  always  exercised  a  close  watch  over  the  con- 
sumers, both  metered  and  unmetered,  to  keep  wastage  and  sur- 
reptitious usage  down  to  the  lowest  practicable  limit. 

In  recent  years,  the  superintendent,  Mr.  Patrick  Kieran,  has 
accounted  for  the  various  uses  of  water  in  great  detail,  and  his 
reports  are  models  worthy  of  adoption  by  other  Water  Works 
superintendents.  It  is,  unfortunately,  impossible  to  dig  out,  from 
about  95  per  cent  of  the  Annual  Reports  of  the  Water  Boards  of 
cities  in  the  United  States,  useful,  reliable  or  intelligible  data; 


155 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

and  it  is  a  positive  pleasure  and  relief  to  occasionally  come  upon 
such  valuable,  detailed  information,  so  well  arranged,  and  bear- 
ing such  a  genuine  stamp  of  honesty,  intelligence  and  purpose 
as  is  to  be  found  in  the  Annual  Reports  of  the  Wautuppa  Water 
Board. 

This  is  one  city  where  an  earnest  effort  is  being  made  to  ascer- 
tain how  much  water  is  supplied,  how  much  reaches  the  con- 
sumers, how  much  is  used  for  various  public  and  non-revenue 
productive  purposes,  and  how  much  is  lost  or  can  not  be  ac- 
counted for.  The  statements  are  not  only  interesting,  but  of 
great  value. 

As  to  the  general  results  that  have  been  obtained  since  water 
has  been  largely  sold  to  consumers  by  measure,  it  may  be  stated 
that  for  the  past  28  years  the  per  capita  consumption  has  been 
continuously  kept  at  a  figure  less  than  half  the  rate  that  pre- 
vailed prior  to  the  time  the  change  was  made  in  the  system  of 
selling  water.  The  lowest  point  was  reached  when  about  70  per 
cent  of  the  services  were  metered.  Since  that  time  there  has  been 
a  slight  upward  tendency  due  to  increased  use  of  water  with  in- 
creased population  and  the  increased  necessities  for  the  use  of 
water  characteristic  of  all  growing  cities.  This  small  increase  is 
rational  and  natural  and  shows  that  the  use  of  meters  does  not 
check  the  use  of  water,  but  does  check  the  useless  wastage  due 
to  carelessness  in  not  keeping  fixtures  in  proper  order.  No  better 
data  can  be  found  bearing  upon  the  merits  of  the  method  of 
charging  by  measure  for  water  than  in  Fall  River.  Exclusive 
of  the  manufactories,  mills,  etc.,  the  majority  of  users  are  renters 
paying  for  their  water  in  the  rent,  the  direct  payment  for  the 
water  falling  on  the  owners  of  the  properties  supplied;  and  yet, 
without  any  incentive  to  be  over-careful,  these  renters,  when  their 
plumbing  is  kept  in  repair  by  the  owners,  do  not  waste  water  and 
have  not  done  so  for  nearly  thirty  years.  This  is  the  experience 
of  every  city  that  has  sold  water  by  measure,  in  every  country. 

From  the  Reports  from  1899  to  1902,  inclusive,  the  data  re- 
garding the  unaccounted-for  water  have  been  arranged  in  the 
following  tables : 


156 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 
USE  OF  WATER  FOR  DIFFERENT  PURPOSES. 


Popu- 
lation. 

No.  of 
Con- 
sumers. 

Average 
Daily 

Percent- 
age OF 

Accounted  for  Water. 

Year. 

Consump- 
tion, Gals. 

Total 

Pumpage. 

Percentage 
Metered. 

Percentage  Not 
Metered. 

a 
^1 

c    . 

B 

Is 

i 

1899. . . . 
1900. . . . 
1901.... 
1902.... 

102,281 
107,623 
107,831 
108.728 

98,931 
104,523 
106,631 
107,653 

35.01 
35.35 
33.56 
40.15 

36.20 
36.40 
33.94 
40.54 

76.47 
78.29 
80.69 
78.53 

23.53 
21.71 
19.31 
21.47 

74.0 
69.3 
68.6 
68.3 

8.8 
9.1 
4.7 
5.2 

82.8 
78.4 
73.3 
73.6 

5.4 
6.0 
6.4 
5.8 

11.8 
15.6 
20.3 
20.7 

17.2 
21.6 

26.7 
26.5 

PER  CAPITA  AMOUNTS  TAKEN   BY   CONSUMERS,   METERED 
AND    UNMETERED;    PER    CAPITA    AMOUNTS    PER    CON- 
SUMER, USED  FOR  PUBLIC  PURPOSES,  AND  AMOUNTS 
NOT  ACCOUNTED  FOR. 


Total 
Supply 
per  Con- 
sumer, 
Gals, 
per  Day. 

O  Average  daily 
2;     amount   per 
g      capita     ae- 
ro     counted  for. 

Gallons  Used  per 
Day  per  Consumer. 

Gallons  Used  per  Day 
per  Consumer  foR 
Public  Purposes. 

Gallons 
per  Day 
per  Con- 

Year. 

Me- 
tered. 

Not 
Me- 
tered. 

Total. 

Me- 
tered. 

Not 
Me- 
tered. 

Total. 

sumer, 
not  Ac- 
counted 
For. 

1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 

36.20     27.7 
36.40 i  28.5 
33.94  1  27.3 
40.54     31.8 

20.5 
19.7 
18.7 
21.7 

1.5 
1.7 
1.7 

1.8 

22.0 
21.4 
20.4 
23.5 

2.4 
2.6 
1.3 
1.6 

3.3 

4.5 
5.6 
6.7 

5.7 
7.1 
6.9 
8.3 

8.5 

7.9 
6.6 

8.7 

During  these  four  years,  when  careful  inspections  were  made 
to  discover  leaks  and  wastage,  when  all  water  used  for  public 
purposes  was  either  metered,  measured  by  the  capacity  of  the 
tanks  used  for  flushing  sewers,  watering  streets,  etc.,  or  estimated 
by  partial  metering  of  representative  portions  of  the  water  used, 
and  the  unmetered  consumers'  water  estimated  by  careful  com- 
parisons with  metered  consumers,  it  was  still  impossible  to  ac- 
count for  about  21.5  per  cent  of  the  total  pumpage.  It  is  prob- 
able that  in  no  American  city  has  there  been  a  more  earnest  en- 
deavor to  limit  the  amount  of  unaccounted-for  water  than  in  Fall 
River,  where  practically  all  the  water  used  by  consumers  is  me- 
tered ;  and  this  statement,  showing  that  at  least  one-fifth  of  the 

157 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

water  pumped  is  not  accounted  for  by  the  meters,  after  allowing 
a  correction  of  5  per  cent  to  the  metered  water  for  possible  under- 
registration  of  the  meters,  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  index  of  the  loss 
that  may  be  expected,  even  with  the  greatest  care  and  watchful- 
ness to  prevent  wastage.  Although  Fall  River  is  a  city  the  in- 
terests of  which  are  largely  devoted  to  manufacturing,  the  amount 
of  water  used  by  these  factories  is  relatively  small  as  compared 
with  many  other  cities,  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  for  instance,  where  the 
per  capita  daily  amount  of  water  sold  by  meter  for  manufacturing 
and  railroad  purposes  alone  is  twice  as  great  as  the  total  per  capita 
daily  amount  of  water  sold  by  meter  and  by  flat  rates  combined, 
to  all  consumers,  domestic  and  manufacturing,  in  Fall  River.  This, 
again,  emphasizes  the  impropriety  of  comparing  the  per  capita 
water  consumption  of  different  cities  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
that  because  one  city  has  a  low  per  capita  consumption  of  water, 
due  to  the  use  of  meters,  therefore  all  other  cities  having  high 
rates  of  consumption  should  by  using  meters,  cut  down  their  con- 
sumption to  equal  figures. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  after  a  sufficient  proportion  of  the  water 
was  sold  by  measure  to  suppress  excessive  wastage  the  effect  of 
the  sale  of  water  by  measure  has  been  to  suppress  permanently 
undue  waste,  but  not  use,  as  evidenced  by  the  relatively  uniform 
and  comparatively  slow  increase  in  per  capita  consumption,  and 
the  absence  of  erratic  or  excessive  fluctuations  in  rate  from  year 
to  year. 

The  cost  of  the  meters  and  cost  of  setting  and  repairs  falls  on 
the  consumers ;  during  the  years  1899  to  1902  inclusive  the  total 
annual  expense  for  meters  and  their  maintenance  averaged  about 
one-half  of  one  per  cent  of  the  value  of  the  meters  in  use. 

HARRISBURG,  PENNSYLVANIA. 

DURING  1888  the  Board  of  Water  Commissioners,  facing  a 
rapidly  increasing  consumption  of  water,  instituted  a  rigid 
house-to-house  inspection  for  the  detection  of  leaks,  and  also 
adopted  the  policy  of  placing  additional  meters  on  large  con- 
sumers, with  the  object  of  reducing  the  waste  which  was  believed 
to  be  excessive  and  increasing  rapidly.     The  placing  of  meters 

158 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

began  a  year  or  two  before  this,  and  the  number  installed  had  not 
been  sufficient  to  affect  the  total  supply,  only  92  meters  being  in 
use  in  1882,  of  which  81  were  owned  by  the  consumers  and  11  by 
the  city.  Since  that  time  there  have  been  added  from  300  to  400 
meters  each  year  until  in  1904  there  were  5,932  in  use,  71  of  which 
were  owned  by  the  city.  During  that  year  8,359  buildings  out  of  a 
total  of  13,177  were  supplied  through  meters  with  the  city  water. 

Metering  in  Harrisburg  is  voluntary,  no  legislation  having 
been  enacted  making  the  use  of  meters  compulsory,  the  con- 
sumers, except  in  the  case  of  large  manufacturing  establishments, 
purchasing  the  meters  from  a  stock  of  various  makes  kept  on 
hand  by  the  Water  Department.  Several  well-known  reliable 
makes  of  meters  were  adopted  for  introduction,  and  the  manufac- 
turers furnish  such  numbers  as  are  desired  by  the  Board.  The 
meters  thus  received  are  placed  in  a  fireproof  vault  at  the  pumping 
station  and  remain  the  property  of  the  manufacturers,  to  be  paid 
for  when  sold  to  a  consumer.  The  consumer  is  charged  about  15 
per  cent  more  than  the  cost  of  the  meter  to  cover  the  labor  of 
superintending  the  setting.  The  meter  is  not  delivered  to 
the  consumer,  but,  after  having  paid  for  it  at  the  City  Treas- 
urer's office,  he  leaves  the  receipted  permit  at  the  office  of  the 
Water  Board  stating  the  hour  he  wishes  the  meter  set.  At  the 
appointed  hour  the  proper  officer  of  the  Water  Department  takes 
the  meter  to  the  place  required,  where  it  is  set  by  a  licensed  plumb- 
er under  the  supervision  of  the  officer.  The  purchaser  selects  volun- 
tarily, and  without  suggestion  from  the  Department,  the  kind  of 
meter  he  wishes.  The  officials  of  the  Water  Board  neither  receive 
nor  pay  out  any  moneys  in  connection  with  the  transaction. 

Meters  in  use  which  are  suspected  of  improper  registration  are 
removed  by  the  Water  Department,  tested,  and  if  found  correct, 
replaced  without  cost  to  the  consumer.  If  repairs  are  necessary, 
however,  they  are  made  by  the  Department,  if  possible,  and  if  not, 
they  are  sent  back  to  the  factory.  The  cost  of  all  repair  work  is 
charged  to  the  consumer.  When  a  meter  is  removed  for  any  pur- 
pose a  pipe  connection  is  inserted  so  that  the  supply  is  continued 
while  the  meter  is  out.  If  not  promptly  replaced  the  water  used 
in  the  interim  is  charged  for  at  the  same  rate  as  the  previous  quar- 
ter's consumption.    The  domestic  meters  are  read  quarterly;  all 

159 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

Others  are  read  monthly.  Bills  for  the  water  consumed  are  deliv- 
ered by  the  inspector  in  person,  quarterly  and  monthly,  for  the 
two  classes  of  consumers.  On  January  1,  1905,  64  per  cent,  of 
the  residences  in  Harrisburg  were  taking  water  through  meters. 
Practically  all  the  manufacturing  consumption  is  metered.  The 
unmetered  manufacturing  and  elevator  consumption  and  water 
used  for  public  purposes  was  estimated  to  be  about  10  per  cent  of 
the  metered  manufacturing  consumption. 

The  population,  average  daily  consumption  of  water,  consump- 
tion per  capita  for  domestic  and  manufacturing  purposes  and  num- 
ber of  meters  in  use  from  1885  to  1905  inclusive  is  given  in 
Table  30. 

These  records  are  among  the  most  interesting  and  instructive 
to  be  found  in  published  reports.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  per 
capita  consumption  is  high  for  a  city  of  this  size,  and  yet,  when  it 
is  separated  into  its  component  parts  it  is  reasonable  and  rational. 
There  are  probably  few  cities  in  the  United  States  which  show  so 
large  a  proportion  of  the  total  consumption  devoted  to  manufac- 
turing uses. 

From  1888  to  1899  the  total  per  capita  consumption  remained 
practically  stationary,  varying  only  5  or  6  gallons  either  way  from 
122  gallons  per  day.  The  effect  of  the  progressive  introduction 
of  meters  is  shown  in  the  gradual  reduction  of  the  per  capita 
domestic  consumption  from  89  to  55  gallons  per  day,  the  curtail- 
ment of  the  waste  represented  by  this  difference  being  sufficient 
to  supply  the  gradually  increasing  demands  of  the  manufacturing 
consumption,  which  had  grown  from  33  to  65  gallons  per  day  in 
the  same  length  of  time.  Since  1899  the  manufacturing  consump- 
tion, which  is  all  metered,  has  continued  to  grow  as  the  city's  re- 
sources have  developed,  while  the  domestic  consumption  has  not 
varied  more  than  would  naturally  be  expected,  the  increase  in  the 
last  two  years  having  been  due  to  the  very  cold  winter  weather 
for  three  months  in  each  of  these  years,  as  shown  by  the  pumping 
records.  The  per  capita  manufacturing  consumption  alone  in  Har- 
risburg,  in  1904,  was,  therefore,  five  times  the  average  total  per 
capita  consumption  in  Berlin  for  all  purposes,  domestic,  commer- 
cial, manufacturing  and  public. 

The  average  cost  of  furnishing  and  setting  the  meters  has  been 

160 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 


TABLE   NO.  30. 

CONSUMPTION  AND  METER  DATA,  HARRISBURG. 


Year. 

Popu- 
lation. 

Average 

Daily 
Consump- 
tion. 
Gallons 

Number  of 
Meters  in  Use. 

Average  Daily 

Consumption  Per 

Capita,  in  Gallons. 

A. 

B. 

Total. 

Do- 
mestic. 

Manu- 
factur- 
ing. 

1885 

1886 

1887 

1888 

1889 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1900 

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

36,000 
37,000 
38,000 
39,000 
40,000 
41,000 
41,000 
42,000 
43,000 
44,000 
45,000 
46,000 
47,000 
48,000 
49,000 
50,000 
52,000 
54,000 
57,000 
60,000 

4,462,000 
5,130,000 
6,400,000 
6,336,000 
5,557,000 
5,859,000 
5,762,000 
5,901,000 
6,054,000 
5,528,000 
6,308,000 
5,853,000 
6,012,000 
6,489,000 
7,323,000 
8,203,000 
8.767,000 
9,064,000 
8,052,000 
8,787,000 

""'81 
228 
504 
831 
1,165 
1,523 
1,932 
2,401 
2,832 
3,274 
3,622 
3,911 
4,208 
4,548 
5,046 
5,502 
5,861 

11 
8 
11 
10 
14 
16 
19 
19 
22 
31 
41 
46 
52 
55 
59 
63 
71 

112 
126 
151 
153 
122 
128 
122 
122 
121 
108 
119 
107 
107 
112 
122 
133 
135 
134 
143 
146 

'"89 
79 
79 
71 
75 
65 
60 
63 
57 
60 
55 
55 
65 
65 

"33 

43 
42 
37 
44 
42 
47 
49 
65 
73 
80 
79 
78 
81 

Population  based  on  census  returns,  1880,  1890  and  1900.  Prior  to  1903 
no  corrections  made  in  pumpagc  records  for  slip.  Slip  of  old  pumps  found 
to  be  25  per  cent,  in  1903.  Total  per  capita  consumptions  given  are  based 
on  allowances  from  20  per  cent,  to  12  per  cent,  for  years  prior  to  1903. 
Manufacturing  consumption  is  practically  all  metered  and  domestic  con- 
sumptions given,  which  include  the  unaccounted  for  water,  are  differences 
between  total  and  manufacturing  uses.  Manufacturing  uses  given  include 
water  used  for  public  purposes. 

A.  Meters  on  domestic  services,  and  owned  by  consumers. 

B.  Meters  on  manufacturing  consumers,  and  owned  by  City. 


IGl 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

about  $13.50  per  meter,  and  the  cost  of  repairs  and  maintenance 
about  1  per  cent  per  annum  on  the  value  of  the  meters  in  use. 

Summary. — The  gradual  introduction  of  meters  in  Harris- 
burg,  Pa.,  until  practically  all  the  manufacturing  and  about  65 
per  cent  of  the  domestic  consumers  are  metered,  has  had  the 
effect  of  curtailing  domestic  wastage  to  the  extent  of  about  30  gal- 
lons per  capita  per  diem.  This  result  has  been  accomplished 
largely  by  the  voluntary  metering  of  services  by  consumers  under 
meter  rates  by  which  the  domestic  consumers  could  pay  by  meter 
somewhat  smaller  annual  charges  than  under  the  prevailing  fix- 
ture rates. 

In  conjunction  with  the  placing  of  meters  considerable  inspec- 
tion work  is  done  to  keep  down  leakage  and  losses,  and  all  leaky 
street  mains  are  repaired  as  soon  as  discovered. 

The  high  per  capita  rate  of  consumption  is  reasonable  when  it 
is  understood  that  55  per  cent  of  the  total  supply  is  used  for  manu- 
facturing and  public  purposes,  the  public  uses  being  comparatively 
small,  certainly  not  over  3  or  4  per  cent  of  the  total. 

While  the  total  per  capita  consumptions  given  are  not  claimed 
to  be  correct,  and  cannot  be  when,  in  a  pumped  supply  the  slip- 
page of  the  pumps  is  not  checked  up  by  measurement,  it  is  be- 
lieved that  for  purposes  of  comparison  the  relative  ratios  of  domes- 
tic, manufacturing  and  total  consumptions  are  sufficiently  exact. 

Although  at  the  present  time  the  per  capita  consumption  is  as 
high  as  in  1887,  when  waste  reduction  methods  were  first  intro- 
duced, this  is  accounted  for  by  the  increasing  quantities  sold  yearly 
to  manufacturers  and  railroads,  and  is  not  due  to  waste,  as  was 
formerly  the  case. 

This  is  a  case  in  which,  without  understanding  the  conditions, 
the  high  rate  of  consumption  would  be  charged  to  enormous 
wastage. 

There  is  still  room  for  improvement,  and  if  the  checking  of 
waste  on  the  present  35  per  cent  of  unmetered  domestic  consumers 
produces  an  effect  proportionate  to  that  from  the  metering  of  the 
first  65  per  cent,  the  reduction  yet  to  be  looked  for  would  be  about 
10  gallons  per  capita  per  day  on  the  domestic  consumption,  thus 
bringing  it  down  to  45  or  50  gallons. 

162 


Appendix  D:     Waste  Reduction  in  American   Cities. 
HARTFORD,  CONNECTICUT. 

IN  the  early  months  of  1900  the  waste  of  water  in  Hartford  had 
reached  such  proportions  that  the  Board  of  Water  Commis- 
sioners found  it  necessary  to  appoint  a  force  of  ten  inspectors  and 
start  them  out  on  a  house-to-house  inspection,  one  inspector  to 
each  ward  in  the  city,  to  examine  all  water  pipes  and  fixtures  and 
report  such  waste  and  leaks  as  were  found.  The  result  of  the  in- 
spection was  the  discovery  of  a  large  number  of  closets  and  faucets 
wasting  great  quantities  of  water,  as  well  as  of  broken  service 
pipes,  ruptured  by  freezing,  and  others  kept  running  to  protect 
them  from  frost;  the  latter  was  the  greater  difficulty  to  contend 
with,  as  some  of  the  landlords  insisted  upon  the  waste  of  water 
by  tenants  as  a  protection  for  the  plumbing  during  freezing 
weather.  The  Board  had  also  under  consideration  the  propriety 
of  installing  a  meter  system,  as  it  was  estimated  that  fully  one- 
third  of  the  supply  was  wasted  and  some  means  of  limiting  the 
waste  was  imperative  under  existing  conditions. 

After  proper  consideration  it  was  decided  to  adopt  universal 
metering,  and  accordingly  the  placing  of  meters  was  begun  about 
the  1st  of  July.  Up  to  the  1st  of  March,  1900,  only  550  meters 
were  in  use  in  the  city.  During  the  fiscal  year  ending  March  1, 
1901,  2,233  additional  meters  were  set,  making  the  aggregate  at 
the  end  of  the  year  2,783,  with  a  total  of  9,656  services  in  use. 
During  the  two  succeeding  years  about  6,373  additional  meters 
were  set,  making  a  total  of  9,156  meters  and  10,083  services. 

The  placing  of  these  meters,  following  the  house-to-house  in- 
spection made  in  1900,  resulted  in  the  finding  and  stopping  of 
many  leaks  underground  which  would  not  otherwise  have  been 
detected.  It  was  shown  from  the  records  of  the  Venturi  meter, 
through  which  the  supply  to  the  city  was  measured,  that  in  1899 
the  night  consumption  between  1  a.  m.  and  4  A.  M.,  February  23d 
to  March  1st,  averaged  at  the  rate  of  87  gallons  per  capita  per  day, 
while,  from  February  12th  to  18th,  1902,  between  the  same  hours, 
the  consumption  was  at  the  rate  of  about  55  gallons  per  capita  per 
day.  The  difference,  32  gallons  per  capita,  being  a  fairly  good  in- 
dication of  the  amount  of  wastage  curtailed.  This  is  also  indi- 
cated by  the  difference,  38  gallons,  in  the  average  daily  per  capita 

163 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

consumption  for  the  years  before  general  metering  was  under- 
taken and  the  consumption  for  1902-03. 

Much  of  the  leakage  was  from  the  service  pipes  between  the 
mains  and  the  houses,  the  investigations  disclosing  corrosion  and 
pitting  by  electrolysis.  The  cast-iron  mains  were  rarely  found  to 
be  attacked.  Out  of  58  examinations  made  in  1903-04  the  damage 
found  was,  with  but  three  exceptions,  conjfined  to  the  galvanized 
iron  service  pipes,  in  connection  with  which  it  developed  that  many 
of  the  seams  were  imperfectly  welded,  the  defects  being  concealed 
by  the  galvanizing,  and  when  the  zinc  was  removed  by  corrosion 
the  seam  opened  and  a  leak  resulted.  The  service  pipes,  with  their 
zinc  coatings  were,  at  one  end,  mechanically  connected  with  the 
main  pipes  to  which  both  wrought  iron  and  zinc  are  electrically 
positive.  This  combination  forms  a  galvanic  couple  having  a  ten- 
dency to  oppose  the  passage  of  current  from  the  cast-iron  pipe  to 
the  soil.  The  cast-iron  pipes  are  coated  and  therefore,  to  a  certain 
extent,  insulated,  while  the  service  pipes  are  of  wrought  iron  gal- 
vanized with  zinc,  a  positive  metal  to  come  in  contact  with  the  soil. 

During  1902-03  three  and  one-half  miles  of  street  mains,  from 
4  inches  to  12  inches  diameter,  were  tested  for  leakage  by  shutting 
off  the  pressure  at  night  on  a  section  of  main  and  bye-passing  one 
of  the  closed  main-valves  through  a  one-inch  meter  by  means  of  t 
hose.  The  shut-off  boxes  on  the  service  pipes  being  closed  tem- 
porarily, the  flow  of  water  found,  if  any,  represented  the  leakage 
from  that  section  of  the  mains  and  from  the  service  pipes  between 
the  main  and  the  shut-off  boxes.  Also,  in  addition,  the  service  pipes 
were  tested  between  the  shut-off  boxes  and  the  mains  on  about 
1^  miles  of  streets.  The  aggregate  leakage  found  and  cured 
amounted  to  about  150,000  gallons  per  day,  or,  figuring  it  upon 
the  2>y2  miles  of  mains  examined,  about  40,000  gallons  per  day 
per  mile  of  main,  the  indications  being  that  most  of  the  leakage 
was  from  the  service  pipes. 

In  1903-04  twelve  miles  of  mains  were  examined  for  leaks, 
50  leaks  being  found,  34  being  in  service  pipes  and  3  in  the  mains. 
Considerable  leakage  came  from  defective  hydrants. 

In  1904-5  the  mains  and  services  were  tested  on  443^  miles 
of  streets,  in  addition  to  going  over  a  second  time  the  15^  miles 
upon  which  the  tests  were  made  in  the  two  previous  years.     One 

164 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

Inmdred  and  nineteen  leaks  were  found,  of  which  20  were  in  serv- 
ice pipes  on  premises,  43  in  service  pipes  between  the  main  and 
the  shut-off  cocks,  54  were  from  defective  hydrants,  one  was  in 
the  mains  and  one  was  from  a  defective  gate  valve.  The  amount 
of  leakage  cured  was  not  determined. 

The  following  table  gives  the  average  consumption,  number 
of  services  in  use,  number  of  meters  placed,  daily  average  con- 
sumption per  service,  and  estimated  per  capita  consumption  from 
1898  to  1905: 

TABLE  NO.  3L 

CONSUMPTION  AND  METER  DATA,   HARTFORD. 


Year. 

Average  Daily 
Water  Con- 
sumption, 
Gallons. 

No.  of 
Services. 

No.  of 
Meters. 

Average    Daily    Con- 
sumption, IN  Gallons. 

Per 
Service. 

Per 
Capita.** 

1897-98 

9,046,000 
9,345,000 
9-10,000,000 
No  data 

6,981,000 
6,988,000 
6,348,000 

8,672 

9,021 

9,351 

9,656 

9,914 

10,083 

10,239 

10,006* 

497 
530 
550 
2,783 
6.993 
9,156 
9,604 
9,860 

1,105 
1,035 

No  data 

692 
635 
635 

110 

1898-99 

110 

1899-00 

1900-01 

No  data 

1901-02 

1902-03 

1903-04 

1904-05 

72 
70 
62 

*  Several  abandoned  services  shut  off  and  discontinued. 
**  Deduced  from  estimated  population. 

The  question  of  establishing  a  flat  meter  rate  was  investigated 
by  a  commission  in  1901.  It  was  found  that  under  the  conditions 
prevailing  in  Hartford  a  flat  rate  was  not  equitable.  There  were 
12  manufacturing  consumers  who  used  very  large  quantities  of 
water,  and  who  had  been  paying  for  this  at  a  special  rate  of  ^ 
cent  per  100  gallons.  To  put  the  whole  City  on  this  rate  would 
not  produce  sufficient  revenue  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  Depart- 
ment. On  the  other  hand,  the  best  flat  rate  that  would  produce 
the  necessary  revenue  was  11^  cents  per  100  cubic  feet,  or  1.57 
cents  per  100  gallons,  a  price  too  high  for  these  large  manufactur- 
ing consumers  to  accept  without  serious  loss.  It  was  therefore 
felt  necessary  to  establish  two  rates,  as  follows : 

A. — 12  cents  per  100  cubic  feet  for  consumers  using  less  than 
3,000  cubic  feet,  or  22,500  gallons  per  day. 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

B. — 6  cents  per  100  cubic  feet  for  consumers  using  more  than 
3,000  cubic  feet  per  day. 

Under  these  rates  the  small  consumers  only  pay  about  l-30th 
of  a  cent  per  100  gallons  more  than  if  the  lowest  possible  flat  rate 
had  been  adopted,  while  the  large  users  were  given  a  rate  but  very 
little  higher  than  formerly.  It  was  recommended  that  these  rates 
be  adopted  until  the  city  was  completely  metered,  in  advance  of 
which  it  was  impossible  to  state  positively  the  lowest  possible 
rate. 

During  the  years  from  1901-1905,  inclusive,  9,310  meters  Avere 
placed  by  the  Department  at  a  total  cost  of  $178,746.42,  or  at  an 
average  cost  of  $19.20  per  meter. 

Of  the  total  number  of  meters  in  use  91  per  cent,  are  of  the  % 
inch  size,  the  balance  range  up  to  G  inches,  of  which  7  were  in 
use  in  1905. 

The  annual  costs  of  repairs  and  maintenance  have  naturally 
varied  from  year  to  year,  the  relative  expense  increasing  as  the 
meters  have  become  older  in  service.  This  expense  has  ranged 
from  1  per  cent,  to  6  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  the  meters  in  service, 
with  an  average  of  from  3  to  4  per  cent. 

Summary. — This  city,  with  a  population  of  about  100,000  peo- 
ple, affords  an  illustration  of  the  effect  of  practically  completely 
metering  all  services  in  three  years,  and  in  this  respect  is  unique 
and  instructive. 

Apparently  very  careful  efforts  have  been  made  to  detect  and 
stop  leakage  in  the  mains  and  service  pipes,  and  as  the  greater 
proportion  of  all  services  are  metered  useless  wastage  may  be 
assumed  to  be  fairly  under  control. 

The  results  so  far  are  gratifying,  although  the  records  do  not 
extend  over  a  sufficiently  long  term  of  years  to  enable  forecasts 
to  be  made  very  far  into  the  future.  As  there  are,  out  of  over 
10,000,  but  about  12  consumers  using  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water 
to  entitle  them  to  the  manufacturing  rate,  their  combined  con- 
sumption not  aggregating  over  4  per  cent,  of  the  total  supply,  it 
is  evident  that  the  per  capita  consumption  should  be  relatively  low 

166 


Appendix  D:     Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

as  compared  with  cities  like  Milwaukee,  where  half  the  total  quan- 
tity of  water  supplied  to  the  city  is  consumed  by  railways,  manu- 
facturing and  commercial  consumers. 

Possibly  the  hope  expressed  by  the  Board  of  Water  Commis- 
sioners in  their  annual  report  for  1901-2,  of  ultimately  reducing 
the  per  capita  consumption  to  50  gallons  per  diem,  may  yet  be 
realized. 

LAWRENCE,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

IN  1894,  in  view  of  the  increasing  waste  of  water,  the  Water 
Board  appointed  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  advisability 
of  installing  meters.  This  committee  reported  in  October  of  that 
year  in  favor  of  the  system,  recommending  that  meters  be  placed 
on  all  new  service  pipes  supplying  dwellings  or  other  buildings 
where  the  regular  rates  exceeded  the  sum  of  $5.00  per  annum.  For 
the  purpose  of  making  the  adoption  of  meters  as  easy  as  possible 
for  those  who  would  prefer  to  use  them  it  was  recommended  that 
the  city  purchase  and  set  the  meters,  making  an  annual  rental 
charge  of  $1.50  per  year  for  one-half-inch  meters  and  in  like  pro- 
portion for  meters  of  larger  or  smaller  sizes,  giving  the  water 
takers  the  option  of  purchasing  the  meters. 

The  recommendations  were  not  intended  to  affect  the  meters 
already  in  use,  nor  water  takers  paying  by  fixture  rates,  unless 
the  Superintendent  or  agents  of  the  Board  found  extravagant 
waste  of  water,  in  which  case  the  Superintendent  was  required  to 
serve  a  written  notice  upon  the  owner  or  lessee,  and  if  the  waste 
was  not  checked  after  a  reasonable  time  he  was  authorized  to 
attach  a  meter.    The  minimum  rate  was  fixed  at  $7.00  per  annum. 

These  recommendations  were  submitted  to  the  City  Council  and 
were  immediately  adopted  and  the  W^ater  Board  authorized  to  act 
accordingly. 

The  result  was  an  immediate  and  marked  increase  in  the  use  of 
meters,  especially  among  the  class  designated  as  small  takers,  who 
found  that  under  the  reduced  rate  they  could  get  their  water 
much  cheaper  than  under  the  fixture  rates. 


167 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


CO 

i 

pq 

i5 


Percentage 

of  Revenue 

Derived 

From 

Metered 

Water 

03                                                

rt:     =     3     =     5     :     3     3     T-^r^  cOTf  00^  t^OSO  »00(N  lOCTXN  COO(N 
^                                                  CO  CO '^  rt^  Tt^  »0  »0  lO  O  CD  t^  I>  t^  t^  00  00  00  OS 

Percentage 

of  total 

Consumption 

Passed 

Through 

Meters. 

S                                                   C0  1>  iCCO  Tj^  (N  (N  O  C  «DOOO  O  OOO  O 

rrt  "     -------     ^  o  O  Oa  CO  CO  O  Cl  (N -^  O  (M  t^  Oi  CO  (N  00  05 

^                                                  ^  (N  CM  (M  (M  (M  (N  (N  CO  CO  Tf  r^  CO  CO  Tf^  lO  lO 

|3       3       3       3       3       3       3       3 

Average 
Daily 
Consumption 
Per  Water- 
taker, 
Gallons. 

O'-tOOcOt^tOCOiO'^^^t^OSCOOCOOI^iOt^^T^Tt^CMt^OiUO 
r~-OiO<MOr-i(M.-i(MCOT^^CO'*^^t^O«OTf(NiOCOCO<NI>l> 

CMr^cM(^^(NCM(N<^^(Nc^J<^^(^l(^l(^^cococN<^lc^(N<^^(^^(N(^^(^l-H,-H 

o    . 

II 
II 

COOOaxMCM^^OiOCMOOOCOCMOt^^OOOOiOxMCO^'^COTti 

05COOr-CO(N!M00005r^u0^005.^COOCOCOiOOOOiO(NOTt^ 

.-'(N(NC0Tt<i0CDOt^0iO«MTt^OO(M»005C0I>'-<C0':0C0?0lr- 

r^  ^  ^  ^  CS  (N  CM  CM  CO"  CO"  Tt^'  Ttn"  tjT  uO  »0  lO 

coTtH'-HTfa5co:oa5io'ot^oco'*xoooococo5t^cocoiocO'-^ 

■*C0rHCMi0»O05i0^L0t^00^Ot0CMCMi0rHCM(Mt^CM-^t^0000 
'^l>OCMTt^c000OCMC0TfiOI>000i^02OCMTt^C0t^0iOC0rtH»O 

cm"  cm"  CO  CO  CO"  CO'  CO"  Tt^'  -^"  Tji"  TjT  TjT  Tt^-  rf  TjT  lO  T^"  lO  »0  lO  lO  lO  lO  CO  iO  O  CO 

Average 

Daily 

Consumption 

Per  Capita, 

Gallons. 

Based  on 

Column  2 

Ol>Or^0005COr^COCOOO^Oi05Xl>COCOCMOCOOCOiOTtCMCM 
l>.Tt<iOCOtOiOCOCOCOI>COI>.OOl-^OCI>COCOCO»CCOOiOiO'<f'^ 

Average 

Daily 

Consumption 

in 

Gallons. 

0005COCOXOi>0>0»OiOOiOOOOOCOTf0005000»OCOCO 
OOSCMCOOiO^h-COCOi-iiOOOtoCMO'tiCMCMCOOOOCMOOCO 
OCMOCO'OCOOiCOCMcO^CMOO'^-t'OiOCOOiOOOOOTficOOi 

o"  o  co"  r^  t^  o  cm"  cm"  co"  cm"  o"  t^  »o"  ctT  oT  t-T  CO  -o"  lo  co'  r^"  »o  lo"  t^"  lo"  co"  tj^ 

»O>Oi0C0C0iOCOU0a>»OCMt^i0^t^0>iOt^O^T^OO^CMC0rH 
tOCMTt^OOOOO:'-i-HCMI>iOCOCOI>r-^iO-^OOOOOOCOCMCOTt<QOOO 

^' ^"  ^' ^' ,_h"  ^' (^^' (^^' (^r  cm"  cm"  cm"  cm"  cm"  CO  co"  CO  CM  co"  co"  cm' co"  CO  co' co"  cm' cm" 

"o  , 

Oi^-H^^iOCOXOCOasrt^OOOS^rtHCOOTt^CMCOiOCOOOlOOiOO 
CO-^O-^OOrtit^CMCOCOOO-^OOCMrft^iOOCOt^OOOSCDCO-^COiO 

t^  'OO^CM  00  o  ^.o  CM  iqcq  Qoq_co_cM__T}^__co_oq  t^__^_cq  Gi  ocoo  oqo 
»o  co"  r-T  00  00  OS  os"  o'  o"  o"  o"  o"  i-<"  --T  o"  o"  o"  o"  ^  cm"  cm"  cm"  co  rf  lo  io  co" 

Population 
in  Families 
and  Board- 
ing Houses 
Alone. 

COOS^COO^iO»OOOrfCMCOCOOCMOOCOI>^   COCC^J^T^OOCOCO 
kOCOOlOOTtiOOO'-H'-iCOOCOtO'^iO^O'^COCO  ^CC-^CO-HCOO 
COTtiCO^t:^COCOiOI>."<tiOO-^CO>OXiOOCM^O  COOOCMiOCOOOcO 
cm'  co"  OO"  O  r-n'  CO  Tf"  rf  rf  lO  CO  t--"  00  OT  O"  --I  CO  >^0  x"  o"  CO  ■^"  t^"  Oi'  CO'  >0  Co' 
CMCMCMCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCO-^'^'^rtiT^tC  OiOiOiOcOCOCO 

ci 
bi 

^^o6o5d•-H■cM■coT^ldco■^>;o6c7>d^CMco^lOcd^^o6oiocMco-^■ 
t^t-t^xxxxxxxxxxo50505CR05CJ5c:i0505a>oooo 

Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American   Cities. 

In  1902  the  wastage  was  so  apparent  that  the  Water  Board 
early  in  July  ordered  the  immediate  appHcation  of  meters  to  all 
the  unmetered  services  in  use.  Accordingly  about  the  middle  of 
August  meters  were  set  on  about  18  business  places  where  the 
Department  had  reason  to  believe  water  was  being  wasted  in  large 
quantities ;  the  result  was  the  immediate  reduction  of  a  consider- 
able amount  of  wastage. 

The  policy  of  placing  meters  on  wasteful  consumers  has  since 
been  continued  and  the  consumption  has  been  reduced  about  22 
per  cent.,  having  been  at  the  rate  of  42  gallons  per  consumer  for 
the  years  1903-4  as  against  53  and  54  for  the  years  1900  and  1902. 
In  1904  about  59  per  cent,  of  the  total  pumpage  was  passed 
through  meters  and  produced  92  per  cent,  of  the  total  revenue 
from  the  sale  of  water,  8T  per  cent,  of  the  services  being  metered. 

In  the  reports  of  the  Board  for  1902,  1903  and  1904  there  is 
given  a  distribution  of  the  consumption  from  which  the  following 
table  has  been  prepared. 


TABLE  NO.  33. 

PER  CENT.  OF  TOTAL  PUMPAGE  USED  FOR  DIFFERENT 

PURPOSES. 


Year. 

Metered. 

Not  Metered,  In- 
cluding Some  of 
the  Domestic  Con- 
sumers, Water 
Used  for  Public 
Purposes  and 
Waste. 

Total. 

Manufac- 
tiiring. 

Domes- 
tic. 

1902 

1903 

1904 

20.3 
23.0 
20.0 

2.5.1 
35.0 
39.0 

54.6 
42.0 
41.0 

100.0 
100.0 
100.0 

Assuming  that  the  unmetered  domestic  consumers^  would  use 
the  same  amount  per  capita  as  the  metered  consumers,  if  all 
services  were  metered,  and  that  5  gallons  per  capita  per  diem 
would  be  used  for  public  purposes,  an  approximate  statement  of 
conditions  during  these  three  years  would  be  as  follows: 


169 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

TABLE  NO.  34. 

APPROXIMATE   DISTRIBUTION   IN   LAWRENCE,   MASS. 

Public  Uses  and  a  Small  Percentage  of  Domestic  Consumption  Estimated, 

in  Gallons,  Per  Capita,   Per  Day. 


Year. 

Manufac- 
turing 
Uses. 

Domestic 
Uses. 

Public 
Uses. 

Not  Ac- 
counted 
For. 

Total. 

Percentage 
Not  Ac- 
counted 
For. 

1902   

11 

10 

8 

15 
15 
17 

5 
5 
5 

23 
12 
12 

54 
42 
42 

42 

1903 

29 

1904 

29 

Summary. — The  use  of  meters  in  Lawrence  has  had  a  decided 
and  beneficial  effect.  It  will  be  seen  that  in  1904  the  average  daily 
amount  of  water  supplied  to  the  city  was  less  than  in  1895,  al- 
though the  population  supplied  had  practically  doubled.  It  will 
be  noted,  however,  that  during  the  period  that  metering  was  prac- 
tically voluntary  (until  1902)  the  consumption  varied  greatly,  the 
wastage  not  being  under  complete  control.  With  the  placing  of  a 
comparatively  few  meters  in  1902,  1903  and  1904  on  wasteful  con- 
sumers selected  by  inspection,  however,  a  still  greater  reduction 
was  secured. 

In  explanation  of  the  relatively  low  rate  of  consumption  per 
capita,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  in  Lawrence  as  in  Fall  River,  a  large 
proportion  of  the  population  resides  in  tenements  containing  two 
or  more  families,  as  can  be  observed  by  the  large  number  of  per- 
sons per  service,  about  ten,  and  the  comparatively  small  number 
of  water  takers ;  and  under  such  conditions  the  number  of  fixtures 
from  which  leakage  can  take  place  is  much  smaller  than  in  cities 
and  towns  of  a  high-class  residential  character  with  many  detached 
houses  and  elaborate  plumbing  arrangements. 

Judging  by  the  rate  of  consumption  per  capita,  and  per  water 
taker,  the  maximum  wastage  occurred  in  1892,  during  which 
year  at  lea.st  half  the  total  supply  was  wasted  when  judged 
by  the  amounts  which  proved  ample  in  1904.  Going  a  step 
further,  the  analysis  of  the  distribution  in  1904  would  indicate  that 
there  is  still  about  30  per  cent,  of  the  consumption  unaccounted 
for,  which  proportion  may  possibly  by  complete  metering  and 

170 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

accounting  for  all  the  water  used  for  public  purposes  be  reduced 
to  about  20  per  cent.,  and  which  would,  assuming  5  gallons  per 
capita  to  be  the  proper  allowance  for  public  uses,  correspond  with 
a  total  consumption  lor  all  purposes  of  about  38  gallons  per  capita 
per  day.  This  figure  is  probably  within  two  or  three  gallons  per 
day  of  the  amount  to  which  the  consumption  of  Lawrence  can 
ultimately  be  reduced  so  long  as  present  conditions,  with  respect  to 
manufacturing  uses  and  the  character  of  the  city,  do  not  materi- 
ally change. 

LOWELL,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

THE  rate  of  consumption  of  water  in  Lowell  has  never  been 
very  high  as  compared  with  that  in  many  other  cities,  the 
highest  reached  i:i  recent  years  being  83  gallons  per  capita  ])cr 
diem  in  1900.  That  there  was  at  least  30  gallons,  and  probably 
more,  of  the  83  wasted,  however,  has  been  demonstrated  by  the 
records  of  subsequent  years  as  the  result  of  the  policy  adopted  in 
1901  of  metering  wasteful  consumers. 

Prior  to  September,  1893,  the  supply  was  taken  entirely  from 
the  Merrimac  River,  by  seepage  through  a  pervious  bed  of  sand 
and  gravel,  into  a  collecting  gallery.  During  the  latter  part  of 
1893  an  additional  supply  was  put  in  service,  taking  water  from 
a  gang  of  driven  wells.  The  ground  water  supply  proving  satis- 
factory, two  additional  stations  were  subsequently  developed,  and 
by  February,  1896,  the  city  was  furnished  with  ground  water  only, 
the  Merrimac  River  supply  being  discontinued. 

During  the  period  between  September,  1893,  and  February, 
1896,  the  proportion  of  river  water  supplied  each  year  gradually 
decreased  and  the  proportion  of  well  water  increased. 

Prior  to  the  introduction  of  this  ground  water  supply  Lowell 
had  experienced  one  epidemic  after  another  of  typhoid  fever,  the 
death  rate  from  this  disease  having  been  extremely  high,  as  can 
be  seen  from  the  following  record  for  the  years  1890  to  1896,  in- 
clusive : 


171 


Waste   of    IVaicr  and  Its  Reduction. 

TABLE  NO.  35. 

DEATHS  FROM  TYPHOID  FEVER  IN  LOWELL,  MASS.,  PER 
100,000  OF  POPULATION. 


Year. 

1890. 

1891. 

1892. 

1893. 

1894. 

1895. 

1896. 

Deaths  from  typhoid  fever 

158 

94 

90 

66 

62 

41 

40 

Percentage   of   total   supply   from 
ground  water  stations 

0 

0 

0 

12 

35 

67 

96 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  number  of  deaths  each  year  diminished 
as  the  proportion  of  ground  water  to  total  supply  increased.  Dur- 
ing this  period  the  rate  of  consumption  was  increasing  rapidly, 
indicating  considerable  wastage.  Of  course,  the  greater  the  waste 
the  greater  the  proportion  of  Merrimac  water  in  the  total  supply 
(as  the  ground  supplies  were  worked  to  their  capacity  as  rapidly 
as  developed),  and  hence  the  greater  the  danger  of  spreading 
typhoid  fever.  In  the  annual  report  of  the  Water  Board  for  1895 
Mr.  R.  J.  Thomas,  the  Superintendent,  called  attention  to  this  pos- 
sibility, suggesting  that  the  City  Councils  should  adopt  legislation 
of  some  sort  looking  to  the  prevention  of  useless  waste  and  its 
resultant  evils. 

Early  in  1896  the  Water  Board  determined  to  place  meters  on 
properties  where  large  waste  was  known  to  occur,  and  this  reso- 
lution, in  connection  with  the  public  agitation  of  the  meter  ques- 
tion, resulted  in  the  applications  for  over  500  meters  during  the 
year. 

In  1899  half  the  services  in  the  city  were  metered,  but  only 
about  25  per  cent,  of  the  total  consumption  could  be  accounted 
for  by  the  meters.  This  25  per  cent,  of  the  consumption,  however, 
produced  60  per  cent,  of  the  revenue  from  the  sale  of  water. 

In  the  report  for  1900  the  Board,  commenting  on  the  waste  of 
water,  expressed  their  steadfast  belief  in  the  metering  of  every 
con.sumer  as  the  only  effective  means  of  waste  prevention,  and 
determined  to  make  a  start  in  that  direction. 

In  the  meantime  lead  poisoning  had  become  more  or  less  prev- 
alent throughout  the  city,  due  to  the  solvent  action  of  the  water 

172 


Appendix  D:     Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

from  one  of  the  driven  well  stations,  and  to  reduce  its  effect  as 
much  as  possible  large  quantities  of  water  were  wasted  from  fau- 
cets for  the  purpose  of  clearing  out  the  poisoned  water  when 
drawing  water  for  drinking  purposes.  After  the  cause  of  this 
trouble  was  located  it  was  decided  to  abandon  the  "Cook"  wells 
and  increase  the  supply  correspondingly  at  other  stations.  The 
"Cook"  well  plant  was  shut  down  in  May,  1901. 

During  this  period  the  city  furnished  and  set  the  meters  and 
then  invited  all  those  whose  consumption,  by  meter  rates,  showed 
less  than  by  faucet  rates,  to  purchase  the  meters  or  be  placed  back 
on  faucet  rates.  Of  the  92:3  meters  set  in  1901  there  were  377  pur- 
chased during  the  year,  while  123  places  were  put  back  on  faucet 
rates  and  426  remained  on  meter  rates  subject  to  replacement  on 
faucet  rates  if  necessary. 

The  following  table  shows  the  population,  average  daily  con- 
sumption of  water,  average  daily  consumption  per  capita,  number 
of  services  in  use,  number  of  meters  and  percentage  of  services 
metered. 

TABLE  No.  36. 


Average 

Average 

Number  of 

Percent- 

Popiila- 
tion. 

Daily 
Consumption 

Daily 
Consumption, 

age  of 

Year. 

Meters 

Gallons. 

Per  Capita, 

Services 

Meters 

to 

Gallons. 

in  Use. 

in  Use. 

Services. 

1890 

78,000 

5,373,536 

69 

8,732 

1,935 

22 

1895 

86,500 

6,922,092 

80 

9,686 

3,174 

33 

1896 

88,000 

6,933,308 

79 

9,913 

3,759 

38 

1899 

93,000 

7,286,205 

79 

10,362 

5,268 

50 

1900 

95,000 

7,893,356 

83 

10,529 

5,586 

52 

1901 

97,000 

7,059,631 

73 

10,799 

6,609 

61 

1902 

100,000 

5,729,325 

57 

10,984 

7,129 

65 

1903 

102,000 

5,256,823 

51 

11,109 

7,273 

,       65 

1904 

104,000 

5,485,323 

52 

11,287 

7,513 

66 

The  average  number  of  persons  per  service  has  been  about  9  during  the  period  covered 
by  the.se  records;  which  is  characteristic  of  a  population,  a  considerable  proportion  of 
which  resides  in  tenements. 


It  will  be  seen  that  during  1901  and  1902,  when  923  and  520 
additional  meters  were  placed  in  service  respectively,  these  being 
applied  to  services  of  wasteful  consumers  selected  by  inspection, 
such  as  bar-rooms,  tenement  buildings,  photograph  galleries,  bot- 


178 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

tling  establishments  and  laundries,  the  wastage  was  cut  down  by 
about  30  gallons  per  capita,  representing  a  saving  of  approximately 
36  per  cent,  of  the  entire  supply. 

The  reports  of  the  Water  Board  give  no  detailed  information 
of  the  relative  amounts  of  water  used  for  public,  domestic  and 
trades  purposes,  and  no  specific  data  regarding  the  cost  of  meter- 
ing and  meter  maintenance.  The  analysis  cannot  therefore  be 
carried  further  than  above. 

Summary. — So  long  as  meters  were  placed  only  at  the  option 
of  the  consumers  in  Lowell,  their  influence  in  waste  reduction  was 
not  felt,  even  with  52  per  cent,  of  all  the  services  metered ;  the  other 
50  per  cent.,  which  comprised  those  heedless  or  careless  consumers 
who  preferred  to  allow  water  to  waste  through  leaky  fixtures  rather 
than  go  to  the  expense  of  having  plumbing  put  in  order,  wasted 
enough,  however,  to  cause  the  total  rate  of  consumption  to  increase 
steadily  in  spite  of  the  continually  decreasing  consumption  among 
the  economical  metered  consumers.  When  the  Board  of  Water 
Commissioners  began  to  hunt  out  the  worst  offenders  of  this 
class  and  put  meters  on  their  services,  although  reaching  only  20 
per  cent,  of  the  number,  or  10  per  cent,  of  all  the  consumers,  the 
effect  was  felt  immediately. 

It  is  safe  to  say,  however,  that  unless  this  policy  is  followed 
out  consistently  until  every  consumer  is  metered,  other  groups  of 
wasters  will  probably  develop  and  the  original  conditions  will 
return.  It  is  only  natural  that  as  faucets,  ball  cocks,  etc.,  become 
older  year  by  year,  they  should  wear  out ;  and  that  what  are  origi- 
nally small  leaks  should  grow  to  be  larger  ones.  Unless  the  plumb- 
ing in  every  city  is  overhauled  occasionally  wastage  is  inevitable 
and  its  amount  in  direct  proportion  to  the  carelessness  of  propri- 
etors in  looking  after  it.  This  is  proven  by  the  experience  of  every 
city  where  control  of  wastage  has  been  attempted.  Ordinarily  but 
a  small  proportion  of  the  total  number  of  fixtures  in  use  is  respon- 
sible for  the  greater  proportion  of  the  wastage.  When  these  are 
found  and  repaired  an  immediate  benefit  results ;  but  such  repairs 
are  only  effective  on  the  fixtures  so  repaired,  and  inevitably  others 
soon  get  out  of  order  and  wastage  may  be  as  great  or  even  greater 
than  before.  In  Lowell  the  checking  of  wastage  on  only  10  or  12 
per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  fixtures,  selected  by  inspection, 


Appendix  D:    IVaste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

saved  about  35  per  cent,  of  the  city's  entire  supply ;  whereas  prior 
to  the  hunting  out  of  these  10  or  12  per  cent,  over  half  the  total 
number  of  services  in  the  entire  city  were  supplied  through  meters 
without  any  apparent  effect  on  the  total  wastage. 


MADISON,  WISCONSIN. 

THE  introduction  of  meters  began  in  Madison  in  188T-8.  The 
consumption  of  water  had  been  increasing  at  a  very  rapid 
rate  and  threatened  soon  to  reach  such  proportions  that  the  exist- 
ing Water  Supply  Works  would  be  unable  to  cope  with  the  situa- 
tion. 

By  1897  about  90  per  cent,  of  the  services  were  metered  and 
at  that  time  the  amount  of  water  supplied  to  the  city  per  consumer 
was  considerably  less  than  half  the  amount  that  had  been  necessary 
in  1887-8. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  only  about  100  water  takers,  out 
of  some  3,500,  whose  water  is  not  metered,  and  only  about  230, 
out  of  the  21,000  inhabitants,  who  are  not  supplied  with  the  city 
water.  In  1887  only  about  half  the  inhabitants  were  supplied 
with  city  water,  and  of  these  only  about  half  of  one  per  cent,  were 
supplied  through  meters.  Thus  in  the  seventh  column  of  the 
following  table  it  will  be  seen  that  although  the  city  is  now  com- 
pletely metered  the  consumption  per  inhabitant  is  much  higher 
than  it  was  in  1887,  when  there  were  but  few  meters ;  an  examina- 
tion of  columns  6  and  8,  however,  will  show  the  effect  of  the 
meters  when  the  consumption  per  consumer  is  considered.  Column 
No.  8  was  deduced  from  column  No.  6  by  assuming  an  average 
of  6.06  persons  per  service,  the  proportion  in  1903-4,  and  while 
probably  not  strictly  accurate  the  ratio  between  the  figures  in  col- 
umn 6  and  the  corresponding  figures  in  column  8  are  the  same 
throughout  the  table,  and  the  comparisons  of  the  yearly  reductions 
in  consumption  are  made  more  clearly  apparent  than  in  the  case 
of  the  larger  figures  in  column  6. 


175 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

TABLE  NO.  37. 


Average 

> 
1 

rG 

1/1  It 

1-   3 

'er  Capita 
Less 
urn  page. 
Per    Con- 

='  It 

Year. 

Popula- 

Daily 

Cj 

43          Si 

tion. 

Pumpage, 

Number 

N  umber 

^  .• 

^u 

II 

^>:(^ 

^^    "S^ 

Gallons. 

of 

of 

!2  rt 

^n" 

rt  o* 

cfi  rt  0)   ;2 

%    Ss 

Services. 

Meters. 

1^ 

1^ 

go* 

l°^| 

fefc  ".- 

■.M    1-,    >> 

c-Ss      ^<U 

cS  <u 

"3  s 

in  (u  <A 

rt  4)  O    rt 

S    OJ         QJ   <-> 

OClh 

o$ 

WPhQ 

OOiQ  O 

Ss   ci.-> 

1884-5 

11,325 

546,120 

699 

3 

781 

48 

129 

.5 

1885-6 

12,063 

648,355 

876 

5 

740    54 

122 

.  . 

.7 

1886-7 

12,250 

715,885 

980 

5 

730    58 

121 

.  . 

.6 

1887-8 

12,500 

704,050 

1,099 

210 

640    56 

116 

.     19.0 

1888-9 

12,750 

535,480 

1,229 

385 

435    42 

72 

.     31.0 

1889-Oc 

13,000 

520,030 

1,355 

441 

384 1  40 

63 

.     32.0 

1890-1 

13,246 

542,162 

1,405 

498 

386 

41 

64 

.     35.0 

1891-2 

13,900 

646,753 

1,554 

547 

414 

46 

68 

41 

.     35.0 

1892-3 

14,600 

734,921 

1,701 

673 

432 

48 

71 

48 

.     39.0 

1893-4 

15,300 

745,224 

1,820 

795 

409 

49 

68 

49 

.     44.0 

1894-5C 

15,950 

859,467 

1,994 

1,223 

431 

54 

71 

47 

.     61.0 

1895-6 

17,884 

891,530 

2,186 

1,726 

408 

50 

67 

44 

.     79.0 

1896-7 

18,100 

797,186 

2,334 

2,071 

346 

44 

57 

38 

14    89.0 

1897-8 

18,500 

750,730 

2,473 

2,268 

303 

40 

50 

36 

14    92.0 

1898-9 

18,800 

799,819 

2,606 

2,410 

308 

42 

51 

38 

14    92.0 

1899-Oc 

19,164 

837,338 

2,758 

2,586 

303 

43 

50 

34 

15    94.0 

1900-1 

19,500 

982,175 

2,966 

2,807 

330 

50 

55 

44      \ 

20    95.0 

1901-2 

20,000 

928,246 

3,122 

2,983 

299 

46 

50 

41      '. 

21    95.0 

1902-3 

20,500 

1,154,585 

3,317 

3,176 

348 

56 

57 

60      \ 

21    96.0 

1903-4 

21,000 

1,501,053 

3,462 

3,336 

433 

71 

71 

52      \ 

21    96.0 

c  Census.     Other  popiilations  are  estimated.  ^-l     ^  •       v 

**  Based  on  6.06  persons  per  service,  the  proportion  in  1903-4.  The  figures  m  this 
column  are  not  official.  They  are  given  to  show  approximately  the  ratio  of  reduction  m 
consumption  per  consumer  from  year  to  year  as  meterage  was  extended. 

The  Madison  records  are  of  value  not  only  in  showing  the 
reduction  of  wastage  on  the  part  of  consumers  when  water  was 
sold  by  measure,  but  they  show  also  that  where  a  large  proportion 
of  a  city's  water  is  used  for  public  and  other  non-revenue  produc- 
ing purposes  the  controlling  of  the  wastefulness  of  consumers 
alone  will  not  be  sufficient  to  prevent  the  wasting  of  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  total  supply.  This  is  exhibited  in  the  following 
table  : 


176 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

TABLE  NO.  38, 


Perce-vtage  of  the  Tot 

\L  Pumpage  Take-v  by 

Year. 

Free  Water  for  Schools,  Churches, 

Pubhc     Buildings,     Fountains, 

Sewer  Flushing,  Fires,  Street 
Sprinkling,      Flushing      Mains, 

Metered. 

Not  Metered. 

Wastage,  and  Unaccounted  for 
Water,  Xot  Metered. 

1894-5 

27.5 

58.0 

14.4 

1895-6 

33.0 

51.7 

15.3 

1896-7 

30.7 

3.9 

65.4 

1897-8 

35. 7 

2.9 

61.4 

1898-9 

33.2 

2.5 

64.3 

1899-0 

36.5 

6.1 

57.4 

1900-1 

35.0 

1.4 

63.6 

1901-2 

30.4 

1.3 

68.3 

1902-3 

27.8 

1.0 

71.2 

1903-4 

28.7 

1.0 

70.3 

In  the  first  two  years  represented  in  this  tabulation  the  un- 
accounted for  water,  including  slip  of  pumps,  and  loss  from  leaky 
service  pipes,  mains,  valves,  hydrants,  etc.,  is  evidently  included  in 
the  unmetered  water  supplied  to  consumers. 

In  all  the  data  for  Madison  no  corrections  have  been  made  for 
under-registration  of  meters  nor  for  slippage  of  the  pumps.  If 
it  were  possible  to  do  this  the  figures  in  the  second  column  of  the 
preceding  table  would  be  increased  and  the  figures  in  the  last 
column  materially  reduced.  Of  the  free  water,  so  called,  in  IMadi- 
son  the  largest  amount  devoted  to  any  single  purpose  is  for  sprink- 
ling macadam  streets  from  May  to  September,  the  amount  used 
during  the  last  eight  years  given  in  the  table  being  estimated  at 
about  60,000,000  gallons  per  year.  The  use  of  water  for  public 
schools,  churches  and  public  buildings,  including  motors  therein, 
has  been  over  half  as  much  as  used  for  street  sprinkling.  The 
amount  used  for  extinguishing  fires  has  been  about  one  per  cent. 
of  the  amount  used  for  street  sprinkling.  The  data  regarding 
these  special  uses  are  not  given  in  all  the  reports,  and  it  is  there- 
fore impossible  to  make  up  a  tabulation  showing  the  percentages 
used  for  each  purpose  each  year. 

It  will  be  seen,  however,  that  since  1897,  when  about  90  per 
cent,  of  the  services  were  metered,  to  1904,  when  96  per  cent,  of 
the  services  were  metered,  the  consumption  of  water  per  metered 

1?T 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

consumer  (which  means  also,  practically,  per  inhabitant)  has  been 
only  from  14  to  21  gallons  per  capita  per  day,  while  the  total  per 
capita  consumption  has  ranged  from  44  to  71  gallons  per  day ;  the 
difference,  from  30  to  50  gallons  per  capita  per  day,  representing 
the  water  used  for  public  purposes  and  the  unaccounted  for  water. 

We  have  here,  therefore,  a  city  in  which  practically  all  con- 
sumers are  purchasing  water  by  meter  and  in  which  only  about 
30  per  cent,  of  the  total  reported  pumpage  is  accounted  for  as 
water  used  by  consumers,  a  portion  of  the  other  70  per  cent,  being 
used  for  public  purposes  on  a  scale  unprecedented,  and  the  re- 
mainder being  unaccounted  for. 

It  is  apparent  that  the  repeated  recommendations  of  Mr.  John 
B.  Keim,  Superintendent,  that  water  for  these  purposes  should  be 
metered  and  the  Department  given  credit  therefor,  are  well 
founded. 

In  Madison  the  meters,  including  the  meter  boxes,  are  fur- 
nished free  to  consumers  ;  and  in  1888-9,  at  the  introduction  of  the 
meter  system,  the  meters  were  not  only  furnished,  but  were  also 
set  free  of  cost  to  the  consumers.  Under  this  system  the  total 
amount  spent  for  meters  up  to  September  30th,  1903,  was  $49,- 
915.57 ;  an  average  of  $15.71  per  water  taker.  The  saving  in  cost 
of  fuel  by  the  reduction  of  the  pumpage  per  capita  is  estimated  to 
have  repaid  the  entire  cost  of  the  meters  and  provided  a  surplus 
of  about  $20,000. 

Water  is  sold  on  a  sliding  scale  of  charges,  the  minimum  rate 
being  $2.00  for  six  months'  service,  for  which  the  consumer  is 
entitled  to  1^500  cubic  feet  of  water.  The  rates  for  larger 
quantities  are  as  follows : 

1,500-  5,000  cubic  feet  per  6  months. .  .-. 13  cents  per  100  cu.  ft. 

5,000-15,000       ''  "     "      6  "        10       "       "     100     "      " 

Overl5,000       "         "     "      6         "       5       "       "     100     "      " 

Meters  are  placed  by  licensed  plumbers  at  the  expense  of  the 
consumer.  All  repairs  except  when  due  to  frost  are  made  by 
licensed  plumbers  engaged  by  the  consumers.  Meters  broken  by 
frost  are  repaired  for  the  consumers  by  the  city  and  the  cost  col- 
lected by  the  city  from  the  consumer. 

No  rent  is  charged  for  the  use  of  the  meters  except  the  mini- 
mum charge.     Meters  are  read  each  month,  and  if  the  readings 

178 


Appendix  D:     Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

show  a  larger  quantity  of  water  passing  through  the  meters  than 
the  normal  the  owner  is  notified  by  the  inspector  to  look  out  for 
and  repair  leaks. 


MIL  WA  UKEE,  WISCONSIN. 

IN  Milwaukee  the  water  consumption  per  capita  had  been  stead- 
ily rising  from  year  to  year  until  in  the  summer  of  1887  it  had 
reached  within  5  per  cent,  of  the  total  pumping  capacity  of  the 
plant,  and  within  2  per  cent,  of  the  capacity  of  the  intake.  The 
Water  Department  being  without  authority  and  funds  to  enlarge 
the  capacity  of  the  plant,  advantage  was  taken  of  a  law  which  had 
been  passed  during  the  previous  winter,  and  meters  were  placed 
upon  the  services  of  many  manufactories  and  place  of  business 
with  a  view  of  curtailing  wastage  and  relieving  the  embarrass- 
ment due  to  short  supply  and  loss  of  pressure. 

The  result  was  an  almost  immediate  reduction  in  the  demand 
on  the  supply  of  water,  conditions  continuing  to  improve  through 
the  Fall  and  Winter  until  the  diminution  had  amounted  to  about 
8,000,000  gallons  per  day,  which  represented  practically  40  per 
cent,  of  the  average  daily  consumption  for  the  previous  year. 

It  was  further  observed  from  the  hourly  records  of  the  con- 
sumption that  the  greatest  proportionate  reduction  had  been  in  the 
night  consumption,  that  is,  between  11  p.  m.  and  4  a.  m.,  indicating 
that  the  reduction  had  consisted  mainly  of  the  former  waste.  Pre- 
viously the  night  consumption  between  those  hours  had  been  be- 
tween 70  and  80  gallons  per  capita,  or  about  70  per  cent,  of  the 
average  hourly  consumption;  whereas  after  the  introduction  of 
about  1,000  meters  the  night  consumption  dropped  to  50  gallons 
per  capita,  or  60  per  cent,  of  the  average  hourly  consumption. 

The  following  table  gives  the  population,  average  daily  water 
consumption,  number  of  services,  number  of  meters  in  use,  aver- 
age daily  consumption  per  capita,  from  1880  to  1904,  inclusive: 


179 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

TABLE  NO,  39. 


Year. 

c 

.9 

c 

s 

^'1 

p. 
6 

u 
Pen- 

rt 

si 

o  P< 

^1 

o  a 

^1 

2  ^ 

>p 

--2  (fl 

^H 

•-;  <0 

a 

Sf  c 

^  Vh 

5  a 

i^S 

o 

^  o 

rt  0) 

O  rt 

Cfl  <n 

o 

cu 

<CJ 

Qo; 

HH 

Qti! 

H-S 

1880 

115,587 

12,269,000 

106 

6,888 

1,781 

26 

1881 

124,150 

13,302,744 

107 

7,584 

1,767 

28 

1882 

132,750 

14,690,413 

110 

8,147 

1,803 

91 

1883 

141,350 

14,788,701 

104 

9,133 

1,619 

221 

1884 

149,900 

14,621,720 

97 

10,034 

1,457 

403 

1885 

158,509 

16,062,475 

101 

10,990 

1,461 

572 

1886 

167,700 

17,878,436 

106 

12,212 

1,464 

871 

1887 

176,900 

20,089,014 

113 

13,243 

1,517 

1,728 

1888 

186,000 

19,107,086 

102 

14,394 

1,334 

3,523 

1889 

195,300 

19,745,408 

101 

15,732 

1,255 

4,749 

1890 

204,468 

22,380,783 

109 

17,368 

1,288 

5,876 

1891 

213,500 

23,991,655 

112 

18,838 

1,274 

7,526 

1892 

222,000 

22,694,438 

102 

21,080 

1,076 

9,008 

1893 

231,000 

24,978,757 

108 

23,863 

1,047 

11,347 

1894 

240,000 

25,858,040 

108 

26,492 

976 

13,581 

1895 

249,283 

25,291,050 

101 

29,797 

849 

15,951 

1896 

257,000 

24,817,029 

96 

32,118 

773 

17,930 

1897 

264,650 

23,650,686 

89 

34,304 

689 

19,966 

1898 

272,300 

23,188,547 

85 

35,994 

644 

22,098 

1899 

280,000 

23,983,022 

85 

38,191 

628 

25,639 

1900 

285,315 

23,631,825 

83 

41,483 

569 

28,386 

1901 

300,000 

24,069,490 

80 

43,386 

555 

31,114 

1902 

308,000 

25,010,800 

81 

45,480 

550 

33,815 

1903 

310,000 

26,272,000 

85 

47,481 

553 

36,415 

1904 

315,000 

27,940,000 

89 

49,835 

561 

39,138 

It  will  be  observed  that  since  1887,  when  meters  were  first 
placed  on  wasteful  consumers  by  the  Department,  the  daily  con- 
sumption per  service  and  per  capita  have  been  reduced  materially 
and  substantially.  The  consumption  per  service  has  been  reduced 
about  67  per  cent,  and  the  consumption  per  capita  about  25  per 
cent,  below  the  figures  for  1887. 

About  78  per  cent,  of  the  services  are  now  metered,  including 
practically  all  the  manufactories  and  a  considerable  percentage 
of  the  domestic  consumers.  In  Milwaukee,  as  in  most  cities  where 
they  have  been  introduced,  meters  were  first  used  by  business  and 
manufacturing  consumers ;  and  it  is  noticeable  that  it  was  not  until 
ten  years  after  the  commencement  of  the  system,  by  which  time 
a  considerable  proportion  of  domestic  consumers  had  been  me- 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

tered,  that  substantial  benefits  in  waste  reduction  had  been 
achieved. 

The  effect  of  the  placing  of  the  first  1,000  meters  on  wasteful 
consumers  is  apparent  in  the  immediate  drop  from  the  per  capita 
consumption  of  1887,  113  gallons,  to  101  gallons  the  following 
year.  These  meters  were  too  few,  however,  to  accompUsh  lasting 
results,  waste  having  developed  in  other  sections  of  the  city  w^here 
no  meters  had  been  placed. 

With  the  extension  of  the  mete^  system  the  number  of  con- 
sumers who  could  waste  with  impunity  was  gradually  reduced 
until  their  number  was  too  small  to  seriously  affect  the  average 
consumption  of  the  entire  city.  It  will  be  seen  that  during  the 
ten  years  from  1891  to  1901  there  was  practically  no  increase 
in  the  total  average  amount  of  water  used  daily  in  Milwaukee, 
although  the  population  of  the  city  had  increased  from  213,500 
to  300,000  and  the  number  of  water  takers  had  increased  130  per 
cent,  in  the  same  time. 

In  1898  about  70  per  cent,  of  all  the  services  were  metered. 
This  included  water  supplied  to  all  railroads,  manufactories  and 
business  houses  in  the  city,  as  well  as  that  furnished  for  power 
purposes,  yet  the  amount  of  water  metered  was  not  over  50  per 
cent,  of  the  entire  supply,  the  other  50  per  cent,  being  taken  mainly 
by  unmetered  domestic  consumers,  among  whom  there  were  still 
many  who  were  extravagantly  wasteful. 

During  February,  1899,  the  meter  rates  and  flat  rates  were 
readjusted  so  that  all  consumers,  domestic  as  well  as  manufactur- 
ing, should  pay  a  uniform  price  for  the  water  they  consumed.  No 
minimum  charge  was  set,  but  the  price  was  carefully  adjusted  so 
that  sufficient  revenue  would  be  produced  to  maintain  the  plant 
in  successful  operation.  This  rate,  for  all  metered  consumers, 
was  fixed  at  the  uniform  price  of  4  1-2  cents  per  100  cubic  feet, 
or  G  cents  per  1,000  gallons.  In  addition  to  this  there  was  a  fixed 
charge  of  $1.00  for  reading  each  meter,  which  in  effect  constitutes 
the  minimum  rate  for  metered  water.  Based  upon  the  metered 
consumption  of  1898  there  were  12,000  metered  consumers  whose 
annual  tax  for  water,  including  the  charge  for  reading  the  meter, 
was  less  than  $3.00  and  5,900  such  consumers  whose  annual  rate 
was  less  than  $2.00  per  year,  a  rate  unparalleled  by  any  city  in  the 
country. 

181 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

The  action  establishing  this  low  rate  has  met  with  popular  en- 
dorsement, the  average  number  of  meters  voluntarily  installed 
yearly  since  1898  having  been  about  2,700  as  against  2,300  for 
the  previous  six  years  and  1,500  for  the  six  years  before  that ; 
3,541  were  installed  in  1899,  which  was  the  largest  number  placed 
in  any  year  since  the  establishment  of  the  Water  Works.  A  great 
many  domestic  consumers  availed  themselves  of  this  rate.  The 
meters  are  read  by  a  uniformed  force  of  meter  readers,  the  uni- 
form being  a  protection  to  the  consumer  and  to  the  meter  readers 
as  well. 

The  city  does  not,  excepting  in  a  very  few  cases,  furnish  nor 
maintain  the  meters,  but  since  1899  has  repaired  all  meters  upon 
request,  charging  only  the  actual  cost  of  the  work. 

No  specific  data  therefore  are  available  as  to  the  cost  of  meter- 
ing the  city,  or  as  to  the  cost  of  maintaining  the  system. 

Summary. — The  general  introduction  of  meters  in  Milwaukee 
has  been  of  undoubted  and  great  benefit  in  curtailing  waste.  It 
is  to  be  noted,  however,  that  70  per  cent,  of  the  consumers,  using 
about  50  per  cent,  of  the  entire  supply,  are  railways,  manufactur- 
ing and  business  concerns.  This  fact  may  Influence  to  a  considera- 
ble extent  the  total  wastage  and  tend  to  make  the  percentage  of 
waste  to  total  supply  smaller  than  in  cities  where  the  manufactur- 
ing uses  are  less  extensive,  since  metered  manufacturing  con- 
sumers do  not  waste  water.  In  this  case,  therefore,  the  wastage  is 
limited  to  the  50  per  cent,  of  the  supply  taken  through  the  28 
per  cent,   of  unmetered  domestic  water  services. 

Since  the  reduction  of  the  meter  rates  to  a  uniform  basis  there 
has  been  a  voluntary  extension  of  the  meter  system  to  all  classes 
of  consumers,  and  it  seems  likely  that  this  attitude  towards  meters 
will  be  maintained. 

The  reduction  of  waste  has  not  yet  reached  the  attainable  limit, 
although  with  the  waste  entirely  stopped  on  half  the  supply,  the 
waste  on  the  other  half,  representing  about  28  per  cent,  of  the  ser- 
vices, does  not  seem  to  have  increased  proportionately  for  several 
years,  notwithstanding  the  rapid  growth  of  the  city. 

The  introduction  of  meters  has  brought  about  a  permanent  and 
lasting  improvement  in  suppressing  waste.    Steadily,  with  the  ex- 

182 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

tension  of  the  meter  system,  the  wastage  has  been  curtailed  each 
year  in  sufficient  quantity  to  provide  for  the  increase  in  population 
for  eleven  years ;  and  since  1901  the  increase  in  the  quantity  of 
water  required  has  been  about  in  the  same  proportion  as  the  in- 
crease in  the  population. 

Since  50  per  cent,  of  the  supply  in  Milwaukee  is  used  for 
manufacturing  and  business  purposes,  approximately  45  gallons 
per  capita  per  day  represents  the  domestic  and  public  uses,  the 
wastage,  the  leakage  from  the  street  mains  and  the  unaccounted 
for  water.  It  would  not  seem,  therefore,  that  a  much  greater 
reduction  in  wastage  is  to  be  looked  for. 

These  records  show  clearly  the  folly  of  assuming  that  since 
certain  foreign  cities  get  along  on  15  gallons  per  capita  per  day, 
and  certain  American  cities  on  from  25  to  60  gallons  per  day  per 
capita,  all  cities  should  be  able  to  do  the  same.  The  total  amount 
of  water  used  daily  for  manufacturing  purposes  alone  in  Milwau- 
kee, a  city  of  320,000  persons,  is  half  the  total  consumption  for 
all  purposes,  domestic,  public  and  manufacturing,  of  Berlin,  a 
city  of  2,000,000  inhabitants ;  and  the  manufacturing  consumption 
per  capita  in  Milwaukee  three  times  the  per  capita  consumption 
for  all  purposes  in  Berlin. 

NEWARK,  N.  J. 

SINCE  1892  Newark  has  been  supplied  by  gravity  with  water 
from  the  conduits  of  the  East  Jersey  Water  Co.,  the  water 
being  delivered  into  the  city's  reservoirs  through  Venturi  meters. 
Under  the  original  contract  with  the  East  Jersey  Water  Company 
the  city  was  entitled  to  27,500,000  gallons  daily,  which  was  thought 
to  be  sufficient  to  provide  for  all  legitimate  wants  for  several  years. 
At  that  time  about  1,000  meters,  owned  and  set  by  consumers, 
were  in  use  on  the  service  pipes  of  manufacturing  and  business 
establishments. 

As  early  as  1895  it  was  found  that  during  cold  weather,  when 
consumers  had  allowed  the  water  to  run  from  faucets  all  night 
to  prevent  the  freezing  of  the  service  pipes,  the  rate  of  consump- 
tion had  on  certain  days  exceeded  the  allowance  under  the  con- 
tract. 

183 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

The  Engineer  of  the  Department,  Mr.  M.  R.  Sherrerd,  men- 
tioned this  in  his  annual  report  for  1895  and  suggested  the  general 
introduction  of  meters  on  all  service  pipes,  except  those  for  domes- 
tic consumers,  as  being  likely  to  hold  the  daily  average  below  the 
maximum  allowance  for  a  few  years,  possibly  until  1900.  He  also 
suggested  the  enforcement  of  a  penalty  for  waste,  or  a  provision 
for  placing  meters  on  services  where  waste  to  prevent  freezing 
was  known  to  take  place,  and  further  recommended  more  stringent 
regulations  regarding  plumbing,  both  as  to  its  character  and  as  to 
the  proper  locations  of  pipes  to  avoid  the  risk  of  their  freezing. 

In  1896  an  auxiliary  supply  of  ground  water  was  drawn  upon, 
and  on  one  occasion  it  was  necessary  to  have  recourse  to  pumping 
from  the  Passaic  River  in  order  to  keep  up  fire  pressure.  In  the 
Winter  of  1897  ground  water  was  again  pumped  during  parts  of 
December,  January  and  February,  and  the  average  flaiiy  consump- 
tion increased  about  2,000,000  gallons  over  that  of  the  previous 
year.  During  1898  the  consumption  had  increased  so  greatly  that 
the  pumping  plant  was  kept  under  steam  practically  the  entire  year 
and  a  total  of  about  191  milHons  of  gallons  of  water  was  drawn 
upon  from  the  ground  water  plant  to  keep  up  a  sufficient  supply 
for  the  city's  needs.  During  the  Winter  of  1898-99,  which  was 
unusually  severe,  140,600,000  gallons  were  pumped  from  the 
ground  water  station,  63,000,000  gallons  of  which  was  a  mixture 
of  ground  water  and  Passaic  River  water,  as  the  water  from  the 
East  Jersey  Water  Company's  conduits  and  from  the  ground  water 
station  could  not  together  supply  enough  for  the  demands  of  the 
city. 

As  a  result  of  the  shortage  of  water  during  the  blizzard  of 
February,  1899,  the  Board  of  Street  and  Water  Commissioners 
decided  to  undertake  at  its  own  expense  the  general  introduction 
of  water  meters,  to  curtail  the  waste.  Accordingly,  during  that 
year  inspections  were  made  to  locate  wasteful  consumers  and  a 
total  of  3,749  meters  were  set  by  the  city,  1,334  additional  meters 
having  been  bought  and  set  by  different  consumers.  The  result  of 
this  action,  coupled  with  the  relatively  short  durations  of  cold 
spells  during  the  Winter,  had  the  effect  of  materially  reducing  the 
daily  consumption.  During  the  succeeding  year  the  Department 
placed  1,352  meters  and  the  consumers  1,360,  a  total  of  2,712,  and 

184 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

the  consumption  of  water  was  still  further  reduced,  as  shown  in 
the  following  table : 


TABLE  NO.  40. 


Month. 

Number  of  Meters  Set. 

Average  Daily  Consumption 
in  Million  Gallons. 

1898 

1899 

1900 

1898 

1899 

1900 

January 

February 

March 

April 

May 

June 

21 
17 
30 
20 

133 
62 
54 
49 
34 
80 

124 
58 

40 
18 
47 
117 
714 
627 
259 
363 
341 
439 
545 
673 

524 

338 

294 

351 

496 

176 

82 

86 

77 

97 

135 

56 

28.2 

28.0 
25.1 
25.3 
25.4 
27.5 
28.4 
29.4 
28.5 
27.6 
27.1 
28.0 

29.9 
32.7 

27.7 
26.2 
27.1 
27.1 
26.3 
25.5 
25.3 
25.8 
24.8 
24.2 

25.7 
25.5 
24.4 
22.7 
22.8 
23.7 

July 

24.1 

August 

September .... 

October 

November 

December 

24.4 
24.7 
24.1 
23.2 
23.5 

Total. .  . 

682 

4,083 

2,712 

27.2 

26.8 

24.1 

Up  to  1898  the  normal  annual  increase  in  the  daily  average 
consumption  had  been  about  2,000,000  gallons,  but  from  1898  to 
1900  there  was  a  decrease  of  3,000,000  gallons  per  day  instead  of 
an  increase  of  4,000,000  gallons,  a  credit  of  7  million  gallons  per 
day  reduction  from  what  might  have  been  expected  under  normal 
conditions. 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  daily  water  consumption,  num- 
ber of  services,  number  of  meters  in  service  and  daily  average  con- 
sumption per  capita  in  Newark  from  1870  to  1904,  inclusive: 


186 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

TABLE  NO.  4K 


Ybar. 

Poptdation. 

Average  Daily 

Consiimption, 

GaUons. 

Number 
of 
Services. 

Number 

of 
Meters. 

Average  Daily 

Consumption, 

IN  Gallons. 

Per 

Capita. 

Per 
Service. 

1870 

105,542 
109,500 
114,000 
117,000 
120,000 
123,310 
125,250 
127,400 
130,800 
133,600 
136,508 
139,000 
142,000 
145,000 
148,500 
152,988 
158,000 
163,000 
168,500 
174,500 
181,518 
187,000 
193,000 
200,000 
207,500 
215,000 
225,000 
234,000 
242,000 
250,000 
258,000 
265,000 
273,000 
282,000 
290,000 

1,440,000 

2,479,000 

3,571,000 

4,473,000 

4,732,000 

5,430,000 

6,206,000 

6,714,000 

7,280,000 

8,375,000 

9,200,000 

9,888,000 

9,680,000 

9,672,000 

10,504,000 

11,400,000 

11,784,000 

12,642,000 

13,531,000 

14,079,000 

15,260,000 

16,630,000 

17,732,000 

20,000,000 

20,040,000 

22,100,000 

22,779,000 

24,969,000 

27,400,000 

26,800,000 

24,066,000 

24,900,000 

26,100,000 

26,610,000 

30,553,000 

3,383 

4,480 
5,616 
6,598 
7,389 
8,195 
8,885 
9,485 
10,048 
10,557 
11,093 
11,902 
12,676 
13,592 
14,649 
15,908 
17,111 
18,410 
19,854 
21,532 
23,265 
25,007 
26,455 
27,565 
28,537 
29,646 
30,792 
31,686 
32,537 
33,494 
34,353 
35,284 
36,278 
37,180 
38,185 

'  "  187 
267 

262 

292 

353 

401 

456 

526 

615 

1,075 

1,257 

1,397 

1,660 

2,073 

2,577 

3,259 

7,342 

10,054 

11,502 

13,274 

15,019 

16,026 

14 
23 
31 

38 

39 

43 

49 

52 

55 

62 

67 

71 

68 

66 

71 

74 

74 

77 

80 

80 

84 

88 

91 

100 

96 

102 

101 

107 

113 

107 

96 

94 

95 

94 

105 

445 

1871 

550 

1872 

640 

1873 

680 

1874 

640 

1875 

650 

1876 

700 

1877 

708 

1878 

726 

1879 

794 

1880 

828 

1881 

830 

1882 

754 

1883 

712 

1884 

718 

1885 

716 

1886 

688 

1887 

1888 

686 
682 

1889 

1890 

654 

657 

1891 

665 

1892 

671 

1893 

726 

1894 

702 

1895 

746 

1896 

740 

1897 

788 

1898 

843 

1899 

800 

1900 

702 

1901 

706 

1902 

720 

1903 

718 

1904 

800 

A  study  of  these  figures  shows  a  steady  and  rather  uniform 
increase  in  population  from  year  to  year.  In  the  25  years  from 
1870  to  1895  the  population  doubled,  but  the  quantity  of  water 
used  increased  16-fold,  and  the  number  of  services  nearly  9-fold. 
In  earlier  years  the  proportion  of  water  takers  to  population  was 
as  1  to  30,  but  this  ratio  has  been  steadily  decreasing  until  in  1904 
the  ratio  was  one  service  to  every  7.5  persons  of  the  resident  pop- 
ulation, indicating  that  at  the  present  time  probably  about  80  to  85 

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Appendix  D:     Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

per  cent,  of  the  reported  population  is  supplied  with  the  city  water 
as  against  about  14  per  cent,  in  18T0.  The  low  per  capita  con- 
sumption in  the  early  years  and  the  slow  but  regular  increase  from 
year  to  year  indicates,  therefore,  merely  that  there  were  relatively 
more  people  supplied  with  water  each  year,  not  that  less  water 
was  consumed  per  user.  This  is  shown  by  the  average  annual 
consumption  per  tap,  which  since  1872  has  not,  with  the  exception 
of  eight  years  in  the  34,  varied  more  than  120  gallons,  or  about 
14  per  cent.,  from  highest  to  lowest. 

The  period  which  is  of  greatest  interest  during  the  35  years 
covered  by  these  statistics  is  that  from  1894  to  1904. 

From  1894-98  the  average  daily  consumption  increased  about 
37  per  cent,  and  the  consumption  per  service  about  20  per  cent., 
while  the  population  increased  but  16  per  cent.  Two  hard  winters 
contributed  to  this  effect,  owing  to  the  large  amount  of  water 
wasted  to  prevent  the  freezing  of  pipes  in  the  houses,  but  still 
the  increase  was  abnormal  and  alarming. 

The  placing  of  the  meters  by  the  Department  had  a  decidedly 
beneficial  effect.  They  were  placed  on  the  services  of  consumers 
who  were  found  to  be  wasting  water  needlessly  and  carelessly. 
Only  4,116  meters  were  set  by  the  Department  during  the  two 
years. 

By  an  inspection  of  the  accompanying  diagram  the  effect  of 
the  introduction  of  these  meters  can  be  readily  seen.  No  additional 
meters  have  been  set  by  the  Department  since  September,  1900, 
yet  those  placed  have  satisfactorily  held  the  rate  of  consumption 
down  approximately  to  the  point  reached  at  the  time  the  Depart- 
ment ceased  placing  them. 

A  decided  difference  is  to  be  noted  between  the  effect  of  the 
meters  placed  by  the  Department  and  those  placed  by  the  con- 
sumers, the  latter  having  comparatively  little  effect  in  reducing  the 
rate  of  consumption.  The  explanation  of  this  difference  is  that  the 
meters  placed  by  the  Department  were  purposely  set  on  the  ser- 
vices of  consumers  who  were  notorious  wasters,  while  consumers 
who  set  their  own  meters  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  done  so  to 
punish  themselves  for  wasting  water,  but  rather  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  privilege  of  paying  for  what  they  actually  used  and 
thus  escaping  the  burden  of  helping  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  extra 
water  wasted  by  the  careless  consumers. 

187 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

At  the  present  time  about  42  per  cent,  of  the  services  are  me- 
tered and  the  normal  per  capita  consumption  is  about  95  gallons 
per  day.  Undoubtedly  among  the  48  per  cent,  of  unmetered  con- 
sumers, mostly  domestic,  there  are  still  a  great  many  careless 
wasters,  and  as  their  number  becomes  smaller  the  difficulties  of 
maintaining  an  adequate  pressure  and  supply  will  become  less. 

The  increase  in  consumption  per  tap  to  be  noted  in  1904  was 
caused  by  the  very  cold  weather  in  January,  February,  March  and 
December,  the  total  wastage  to  prevent  the  freezing  of  service 
pipes  amounting  to  approximately  660,000,000  gallons. 

Summary. — The  compulsory  placing  of  meters  on  4,116,  or  10 
per  cent,  of  the  total  number  of  consumers,  in  1899  and  1900,  these 
4,116  being  selected  by  inspection,  was  followed  by  a  reduction 
of  wastage  to  the  extent  of  three  million  gallons  per  day,  or  11 
per  cent,  of  the  supply. 

During  1901,  1902  and  1903  this  advantage  was  held,  the  con- 
sumption increasing  only  in  proportion  to  the  population. 

In  1904  the  consumption  again  increased  abnormally,  due  in 
part  to  wastage  during  the  severe  winter  weather.  The  increase 
during  the  Summer  of  1904  was  largely  chargeable  to  the  lack 
of  rain,  the  precipitation  from  June  to  October,  1904,  being  only 
24.2  inches  as  compared  with  48.1  inches  in  1903,  this  circumstance 
giving  rise  to  a  much  larger  use  of  water  than  usual  for  washing 
pavements  and  sidewalks  and  for  sprinkling  streets  and  lawns  and 
for  gardens.  On  the  whole,  however,  the  consumption  was  too 
high  to  be  satisfactorily  accounted  for  in  this  way ;  and  it  is  prob- 
able if  not  certain  that  another  class  of  wasters  has  sprung  up 
among  the  48  per  cent,  of  domestic  consumers  not  metered. 

PROVIDENCE,  RHODE  ISLAND. 

SINCE  1872  meters  have  been  in  use  in  Providence.  By  1877 
42  per  cent,  of  the  services  were  metered  and  from  that  date 
the  number  of  meters  set  has  increased  more  rapidly  than  the 
number  of  services  added,  until  in  1904  86  per  cent,  of  all  services 
were  delivering  water  through  meters. 

During  this  period,  from  1877  to  1904,  the  population  of  the 
city  has  increased  102  per  cent.,  while  the  average  per  capita  con- 
sumption has  increased  178  per  cent,  or  from  24  to  67  gallons 


Appendix  D :    Waste  Reduction  in  American   Cities. 


per  day.    This  increase,  it  will  be  noted,  has  taken  place  in  spite  of 
the  extensive  use  of  meters. 

About  1890  the  consumption  began  to  increase,  and  in  1892 
the  Department  started  an  investigation  to  find  out  the  reasons 
therefor.  In  a  paper  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Shedd,  M.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,  read 
before  the  New  England  Waterworks  Association  in  March,  1904, 
the  results  of  this  investigation  were  described  very  clearly.  The 
following  table,  abridged  somewhat  from  the  one  given  by  Mr. 
Shedd,  and  extended  to  include  the  records  of  two  more  years, 
shows  the  population  supplied  with  water,  the  number  of  miles 
of  street  mains  per  1,000  of  population,  the  per  capita  supply  of 
water  and  percentage  of  services  metered  from  1877  to  1904,  in- 
clusive : 

TABLE  NO.  42. 

DISTRIBUTION,  POPULATION,  AND   PER  CAPITA   SUPPLY 
OF  WATER   IN  PROVIDENCE,   RHODE   ISLAND. 


Miles  of 

Per  Capita 

Year. 

Miles  of 

Population 

Pipe  Per 

Supply  of 

Percentage  of 

Street  Mains. 

Supplied. 

M.  of 

Water. 

Services  Metered. 

Population. 

Gallons. 

1877 

143.921 

102,900 

1.398 

24.21 

42.00 

1878 

149.066 

104,800 

1.422 

26  00 

43.00 

1879 

151.389 

106,875 

1.418 

29.00 

45.00 

1880 

154.566 

109,400 

1.413 

32.00 

47.00  Mch., 

80 

1881 

159.404 

112,200 

1.421 

33.00 

48.00  Nov., 

80 

1882 

166.720 

115,100 

1.446 

32.00 

No  record 

1883 

176.676 

118,000 

1.497 

35.00 

52.00 

1884 

183.839 

120,900 

1.521 

34.00 

54.00 

1885 

189.304 

123,800 

1.529 

38.00 

55.00 

1886 

194.230 

126,700 

1.533 

38.00 

57.00 

1887 

203.389 

129,700 

1.568 

38.00 

58.00 

1888 

210.367 

132,600 

1.586 

42.00 

59.00 

1889 

218.010 

135,700 

1.607 

43.00 

61.00 

1890 

226.479 

138,700 

1.633 

49.00 

62.00 

1891 

243532 

141,800 

1.717 

51.00 

63.00 

1892 

257.715 

144,900 

1.779 

56 .  00 

65.00 

1893 

273.265 

148,000 

1.846 

63.00 

69.00 

1894 

284.760 

151,800 

1.876 

65.00 

72.00 

1895 

296.275 

156,400 

1.894 

57.00 

75.00 

1896 

303. 192 

162,200 

1.869 

56.00 

76.00 

1897 

310346 

168,200 

1.845 

51.00 

78.00 

1898 

314.853 

174,200 

1.808 

52 .  00 

80.00 

1899 

318.428 

180,600 

1.763 

53.00 

81.00 

1900 

324.555 

186,800 

1.737 

54.00 

83.00 

1901 

331. 035 

193,000 

1.715 

56.00 

84.00 

1902 

336.156 

199,400 

1.686 

58.00 

84.00 

1903 

341.400 

202,800 

1.684 

65.00 

85.00 

1904 

345.710 

207,900 

1.662 

67.00 

86.00 

Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

The  following  is  quoted  from  Mr.  Shedd's  paper,  referred  to 
above : 

"In  the  year  1892  the  Department  noticed  what  was  considered  to  be 
an  unnecessary  per  capita  use  of  water,  and  special  inspectors  were  en- 
gaged to  examine  the  supply  through  services,  and  the  returns  of  the  ordi- 
nary inspection  were  reviewed  in  the  office  to  discover  a  reason  for  such 
use.  About  two  years  were  occupied  in  the  examination  and  in  applying 
remedies.  It  was  found  that  upon  many  of  the  unmetered  services  there 
was  large  waste,  and  the  takers  on  such  services  were  notified  that  under 
the  provision  in  the  published  rates  allowing  special  assessments  to  be 
made  for  peculiar  circumstances  they  would  be  subjected  to  such  special 
assessment,  unless  they  chose  to  put  on  meters.  A  considerable  number 
of  such  takers  had  meters  set  and  the  rate  of  increase  in  the  number  of 
meters  showed  the  influence  of  this  move.  The  examination  and  the  effort 
to  check  waste  reached  its  culmination  in  1894.  In  that  year  the  average 
daily  consumption  of  water  was  9,904,434  gallons  and  the  per  capita  sup- 
ply was  65.24,  which  was  larger  than  it  had  been  before  or  has  been  since, 
and  undoubtedly  more  than  was  reasonable.  The  effect  of  the  special 
effort  to  check  waste  was  shown  in  the  following  year  in  two  ways  that 
were  striking  when  observed  upon  a  profile  illustrating  the  conditions 
obtaining  upon  the  work. 

First. — The  total  average  daily  consumption  of  water  dropped  to  8,905,085 
gallons  and  the  per  capita  supply  to  56.93,  which  was  still  fully  up  to 
the  requirements  for  use. 

Second. — The  rate  of  increase  in  the  revenue  shot  up  in  a  marked  way. 
The  full  effect  of  the  effort  to  check  waste  was  not,  however,  shown 
until  1897,  when  the  total  average  daily  consumption  of  water  had 
dropped  to  8,635,067  gallons  and  the  per  capita  supply  to  51.34. 

"From  that  time  to  within  about  two  years  the  increase  in  the  total 
supply  has  been  reasonably  consistent  with  the  increase  of  the  population 
supplied. 

"Lately  a  new  tendency  is  shown  to  dispose  of  a  greater  per  capita 
supply  of  water.  This  seems  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  effect  of  elec- 
trolysis which  has  a  destructive  action  in  several  places  in  the  City.  On 
one  street  several  street  mains  have  been  taken  out  in  two  successive 
years,  being  badly  decomposed  and  one  of  which  had  been  completely 
eaten  through.  The  iron  bolts  of  meters  have  been  eaten  off  and  replaced 
by  composition  bolts.  Lead  service  pipes  have  also  been  badly  eaten.  The 
conditions  favoring  the  destructive  action  of  electrolysis  are  being  changed 
steadily  for  the  better,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  waste  of  water  from  this 
cause  may  be  kept  within  reasonable  limits. 

"It  is  believed  there  is  a  considerable  waste  in  connection  with  the 
direct  service  to  elevators  from  the  pressure  in  the  mains.     One  hundred 

190 


Appendix  D:     Waste  Reduction  in  American   Cities. 

and  sixty-nine  elevators  are  supplied  in  this  way  and  the  condition  of  their 
supply  is  now  being  examined. 

"The  working  force  of  the  Meter  Department  in  Providence  consists 
of  three  men  who  do  all  the  setting  and  repairing  of  the  meters  on  the 
system.  The  total  expense  of  the  Department  is  more  than  returned  to 
the  City  by  the  charges  against  the  takers,  they  being  at  a  fixed  rate  per 
meter  for  the  usual  operations.  The  average  anuual  cost  per  meter  for 
repairs  is  about  eleven  and  one-half  cents,  the  total  cost  for  the  last  full 
year  reported  being  $2,278.89. 

"Eternal  vigilance  is  as  necessary  in  a  Water  Department  as  in  other 
matters,  to  secure  a  perfect  result.  It  is  found  that  in  Providence  there 
are  men  so  lost  to  the  dictates  of  a  good  conscience  that  they  will  tap  in 
a  supply  back  of  the  meter  so  as  to  draw  water  without  having  it  meas- 
ured. 

"Water  is  supplied  to  manufacturing  establishments  for  fire  purposes 
without  cost  when  contained  in  pipes  laid  at  the  expense  of  the  establish- 
ment and  not  connected  with  any  other  means  of  supply.  It  is  a  condition 
of  such  supply  that  no  water  whatever  shall  be  drawn  from  these  pipes 
except  to  extinguish  fires.  It  was  found  at  one  time  that  about  a  million 
gallons  per  day  extra  was  being  drawn  in  a  manufacturing  section  of  the 
City  and  an  Inspector  was  sent  out  to  locate  the  waste.  It  was  found  that 
two  establishments  near  each  other  had  opened  their  fire  service  pipes  and 
were  using  the  water  for  washing  and  other  purposes.  The  fact  that  the 
combined  use  of  the  two  was  so  great  facilitated  the  discovery. 

"Other  surreptitious  use  of  water  has  been  discovered  from  time  to 
time,  like  its  use  for  broad  irrigation,  etc. 

"Nearly  all  the  evils  of  waste  can  be  cured  by  placing  a  meter  on 
every  service.  It  would  hardly  be  expected  in  any  community  that  illum- 
inating gas  would  be  furnished  to  takers  except  through  a  meter,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  gas  is  cheaper  than  water.  In  Providence  gas  is 
sold  at  $1.10  per  thousand  cubic  feet,  while  for  water  $1.50  per  thousand 
cubic  feet  is  paid." 

The  average  cost  per  year  of  maintaining  the  meters  in  use 
for  1878  to  1886  inclusive,  for  each  meter  in  use,  is  given  by  Mr. 
E.  B.  Weston  as  $0.44  (the  condemned  meters  not  being  included) 
and  $0.78  per  meter  per  year,  including  the  cost  of  the  condemned 
meters. 

From  the  quarterly  reports  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works  it 
would  appear  that  the  average  cost  of  the  meters  set  between  1899 
and  1905  was  $1G.50  per  meter  (all  sizes  included),  and  the  cost 
of  maintenance  and  repairs  about  2  per  cent,  of  the  value  of  the 
meters  in  service. 

191 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

Summary. — These  statistics  of  a  city  which  is  very  largely 
metered,  and  which  has  been  held  up  for  many  years  as  an  example 
of  a  city  in  which  the  consumption  has  been  kept  down  to  about 
50  gallons  per  day,  show  in  recent  years  an  increase  which  meters 
have  not  been  able  to  control.  This  increase  has  been  attributed 
to  the  destruction  of  service  pipes  by  electrolysis.  The  only  likely 
explanations  are  either,  as  suggested,  that  the  extensive  pitting  of 
the  pipes  is  causing  the  leakage  or  that  the  uses  for  manufacturing, 
public  and  unclassified  purposes  are  increasing  more  rapidly  than 
the  general  demand  for  domestic  consumption.  The  data  at  hand 
are  not  sufficient  to  demonstrate  the  extent  to  which  the  demands 
for  these  purposes  are  influencing  the  total  supply. 

Until  within  late  years  the  rate  of  consumption  has  kept  pace 
in  about  even  proportions  with  the  increase  of  population,  although 
undoubtedly  some  influence  other  than  meters  has,  particularly  in 
the  eariier  years,  contributed  to  this  result.  It  is  not  conceivable 
that  the  checking  of  waste  on  50  per  cent,  of  the  consumers  could 
have  kept  the  consumption  so  constant  and  at  so  low  a  figure. 
This  Water  Department  has  always  been  very  carefully  managed 
and  wastage  has  been  kept  down  by  a  published  and  well  under- 
stood warning  that  those  who  waste  water  would  be  subject  to  a 
special  assessment. 

RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA. 

THE  introduction  of  meters  at  the  expense  of  the  city  for  the 
purpose  of  preventing  wastage  was  begun  in  1897  and  has 
been  continued  with  more  or  less  regularity  since  that  time. 

During  the  cold  weather  of  1893  so  much  water  was  wasted 
to  prevent  the  bursting  of  pipes  that  the  city  reservoirs  were  prac- 
tically emptied  and  there  was  little  or  no  pressure  in  the  mains  in 
the  principal  streets  of  the  city.  Repetitions  of  this  condition 
finally  led  to  the  use  of  meters  to  control  this  excessive  wastage, 
and  since  metering  began  no  such  troubles  have  been  experienced. 

The  effect  of  metering,  however,  has  not  been  sufficiently 
marked  up  to  the  present  time  to  indicate  any  material  reduction 
in  the  amount  supplied  per  capita,  which  is  high  for  a  city  of  the 
size  and  character  of  Richmond. 

192 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

TABLE  NO.  43. 


Popula- 
tion. 

Average  Daily  Con- 
sumption, IN  Gals. 

Total 
No.  of 
Meters. 

ters. 

Per 
cent,  of 
Ser- 
vices 
Me- 
tered. 

Miles  of 
Mains. 

No.  of 
Meters 

Year. 

Total. 

Per 
Capita.* 

Owned 
by  City. 

1899 

1900 

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

83,000 
85,000 
88,000 
92,000 
96,000 
100,000 

10,048,549 
10,950,000 
10,999.893 
11,246,899 
11,841,435 
12,905,342 

126 
129 
125 
122 
123 
129 

4,296 
4,621 
4,978 
5,609 
6,201 
6,653 

30 
32 
34 
37 

40 
•    41 

92.72 

94.07 

97.29 

103.30 

105.89 

108.02 

2,443 
2,716 
3,045 
3,631 
4,291 
4,875 

♦Based  on  estimated  population  stated  in  second  column. 

It  is  estimated  that  at  the  present  time,  March,  1906,  about  75 
per  cent,  of  the  domestic  consumption  is  metered  and  about  45 
per  cent,  of  the  total  consumption. 

The  cost  of  furnishing  and  setting  the  meters  owned  by  the 
city  is  about  $12.00  per  meter;  the  cost  of  setting  meters  for  the 
consumers  averages  about  $2.62  per  meter.  The  total  amount 
spent  for  meters  from  1897  to  1904,  inchisive,  was  $50,000,  which 
for  the  4,875  meters  in  service  represents  an  average  cost  of  $8.37 
per  meter;  this,  however,  makes  no  allowance  for  the  meters  in 
stock,  adding  which  would  reduce  the  average  cost  somewhat. 
Figures  on  the  cost  of  maintenance  and  repairs  are  not  available. 

Regarding  the  effect  of  the  introduction  of  meters  Mr.  Charles 
E.  Boiling  says :  "In  1897  nearly  500  houses  had  no  water  in  the 
second  stories  during  the  day.  There  are  now  no  complaints  from 
these  residents.  The  pressure  at  the  high  points  is  three  times 
greater  than  formerly. 

"The  pressure  is  still  improving,  the  revenue  increasing  and  the 
popularity  of  the  method  of  paying  by  measure  shown  by  the  num- 
ber of  applications  for  meters.  I  regard  it  as  most  important  that 
all  city  buildings  should  have  meters.  The  new  city  jail  consumes 
2,000,000  gallons  of  water  per  month,  which  if  paid  for  at  5  cents 
per  1,000  gallons  would  amount  to  $1,190  per  annum,  whereas  the 
amount  actually  received  is  but  $54  per  annum.  The  average  con- 
sumption per  capita  at  the  jail  is  500  gallons  per  day.  The  pressure 
on  the  mains  has  been  maintained  through  periods  when  it  was 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

very  cold,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  has  controlled  the  waste. 
Complaints  of  high  bills,  when  investigated,  invariably  disclose 
leaky  pipes  or  fixtures  or  careless  waste." 

From  the  data  at  hand  it  would  appear  that  the  chief  benefit 
from  the  introduction  of  meters  has  been  the  prevention  of  some 
of  the  waste  during  cold  and  during  hot  weather,  with  consequent 
increase  of  pressure  in  the  high  districts.  Apparently  a  large 
amount  of  wastage  continues  from  the  55  per  cent,  of  consumption 
not  metered,  which  includes  25  per  cent,  of  the  domestic  consump- 
tion, all  public  consumption  and  some  of  the  manufacturing  and 
business  consumption.  So  far  as  the  reduction  of  the  per  capita 
consumption  is  concerned  apparently  no  benefit  has  been  derived. 
Possibly  the  meters  have  not  yet  reached  the  worst  offenders.  Yet 
it  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  this  case  the  metering  of  75  per  cent,  of 
the  domestic  consumers  has  not  materially  affected  the  per  capita 
consumption  of  the  city. 


ST.  LOUIS,  MISSOURI. 

ST.  LOUIS  began  to  combat  wastage  by  house-to-house  inspec- 
tions in  1880,  the  agitation  having  been  started  in  1878-9  and 
1880  by  recommendations  of  the  Board  of  Public  Improvements 
looking  to  universal  metering.  This  recommendation,  however, 
was  never  adopted,  and  to  this  day  meters  have  only  been  very 
sparingly  introduced. 

Such  efforts  as  have  been  made  at  waste  reduction  in  St.  Louis 
have  therefore  been  confined  entirely  to  house-to-house  inspections 
conducted  with  vigor  at  times  and  neglected  at  other  times.  The 
net  result  has  been  a  steady  tendency  toward  an  increase  in  the 
rate  of  consumption,  with  an  occasional  reduction  for  a  year  or 
two  at  a  time,  as  indicated  in  Table  44  on  opposite  page. 

The  result  of  this  method  of  checking  waste  in  St.  Louis  is 
summed  up  by  Mr.  M.  L.  Holman,  in  a  paper  read  before  the 
Engineers'  Club  of  that  city,  and  published  in  the  Journal  of  Asso- 
ciated Engineering  Societies,  August,  1885. 

Of  about  100  house  inspections  made  by  Mr.  Holman  on  the 
night  of  July  31,  1884,  66  per  cent,  were  found  to  be  all  right  and 

194 


Appendix  D:     Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

TABLE  NO,  44, 


Year. 

Popula- 

tion. 

1881 

360,600 

1882 

370,800 

1883 

380,900 

1884 

391,000 

1885 

401,100 

1886 

411,270 

1887 

421,400 

1888 

431,500 

1889 

441,600 

1890 

451,770 

1891 

464,100 

1892 

476,500 

1893 

488,800 

1894 

501,200 

1895 

513,500 

1896 

525,900 

1897 

538,200 

1898 

550,500 

1899 

562,900 

1900 

575,238 

1901 

588,000 

1902 

601,000 

Average  Daily 

Consumption, 

Gallons. 


27,500,000 
28,000,000 
27,400,000 
24,600,000 
26,800,000 
30,000,000 
30,500,000 
32,000,000 
32,300,000 
35,200,000 
38,600,000 
42,100,000 
47,500,000 
52,900,000 
55,200,000 
51,100,000 
52,600,000 
54,400,000 
60,800,000 
63,500,000 
65,800,000 
67,000,000 


Per- 

Aver- 

centage 

Daily 

Number 

No. 

of 

Con- 

of 

of  Me- 

Servi- 

sump- 

Services. 

ters. 

ces 

tion   per 

Me- 

Cap- 

tered. 

ita. 

75 

20,204 

573 

2.8 

74 

21,745 

905 

4.2 

72 

23,648 

1,228 

5.2 

63 

25,321 

1,522 

6.0 

67 

27,457 

1,811 

6.6 

73 

29,884 

2,143 

7.2 

72 

31,794 

2,376 

7.5 

74 

34,022 

2,662 

7.8 

73 

36,082 

2,888 

8.0 

78 

38,183 

3,115 

8.1 

83 

41,331 

3,399 

8.2 

88 

44,382 

3,601 

8.1 

97 

47,445 

3,750 

7.9 

105 

50,540 

3,850 

7.4 

107 

53,354 

3,979 

7.5 

97 

56,865 

4,092 

7.2 

98 

59,423 

4,198 

7.0 

99 

61,839 

4,151 

6.7 

97 

63,851 

4,161 

6.5 

111 

65,688 

4,133 

6.3 

112 

67,243 

4,331 

6.5 

112 

69,483 

4,525 

6.5 

Aver- 
age 
Daily 
Con- 
sump- 
tion  per 
Ser- 
vice. 


1,360 

1,290 

1,160 

970 

975 

1,005 

960 

940 

894 

920 

935 

950 

1,000 

1,050 

1,035 

898 

885 

880 

952 

965 

978 

965 


34  per  cent,  were  found  to  be  wasting  water ;  the  day  gang,  which 
followed  up  the  night  inspections,  found  that  of  the  34  per  cent, 
of  the  above  houses  found  to  be  wasting  water  on  the  previous 
night  62  per  cent,  had  defective  plumbing. 

The  following  quotation  is  from  the  paper  by  Mr.  Holman, 
referred  to  above : 

"There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  by  the  employment  of  these  in- 
spectors a  large  waste  of  water  has  been  stopped.  I  doubt,  however, 
if  as  good  results  can  be  expected  to  follow  a  continuous  practice  of 
this  system.  Indeed,  I  am  more  than  ever  convinced  from  my  ob- 
servations of  the  work  done  by  this  force,  that  the  only  permanent  and 
economical  method  of  controlling  the  delivery  of  water  to  consumers 
for  other  than  business  purposes  is  in  operating  under  some  law 
similar  to  the  proposed  ordinance  sent  to  the  Municipal  Assembly  by 
the  Board  of  Public  Improvements. 

''Although  the  saving  of  water  was  considerable  by  this  system  of 
inspection,  yet   during  the   two  months  that   I   had  charge  it  became 

195 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

very  onerous  to  the  water-takers.  I  was  bothered  by  a  great  many 
groundless  reports  against  my  inspectors,  representing  them  guilty 
of  gross  misconduct,  etc.,  etc.  Mr,  S.  F.  Burnet  and  myself  did  nearly 
all  the  key  work,  and  I  generally  found  several  reports  on  my  desk 
during  the  day,  giving  us  a  good  overhauling.  Some  persons  thought 
to  defeat  the  inspection  by  filling  the  stop-boxes  full  of  sand;  others 
tried  old  shoes,  hard  coal  well  rammed  down,  etc. 

"I  regard  the  night  inspection  system  as  a  very  good  method  of 
house-to-house  inspection,  as  it  puts  only  those  who  are  found  run- 
ning water  to  waste  at  night  to  the  inconvenience  of  a  day  inspection. 
The  great  drawback  is  that  a  waste  of  water  cannot  be  proven  unless 
found  by  a  day  gang  of  inspectors  employed  to  follow  up  the  night 
men,  all  sorts  of  excuses  being  offered  to  account  for  the  flow  of  water 
through  the  stop-cock  during  the  night  hours. 

"The  vital  point  of  any  method  of  house-to-house  inspection  is 
that  the  inspection  can  only  be  made  efficient  by  keeping  a  very  ex- 
pensive force  of  inspectors,  and  they  must  be  backed  up  by  complete 
legislation.  That  the  benefits  of  the  inspection  are  only  temporary  is, 
I  think,  fully  shown  by  the  detail  reports  given." 

SPRINGFIELD,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

IN  Springfield  meters  have  been  in  service  to  a  limited  extent  for 
a  good  many  years,  but  as  their  use  is  not  compulsory,  those 
now  in  place  have  been  set  at  the  request  of  economical  consumers 
for  the  purpose  of  reducing  their  water  bills  and  not  for  the  pur- 
pose of  reducing  wastage. 

The  statistics  of  water  consumption  in  the  town  show  this 
condition  very  distinctly,  as  may  be  seen  from  an  inspection  of  the 
following,  Tables  45  and  46  (page  197). 

There  is  so  much  uncertainty  regarding  the  total  quantity  of 
water  used  at  Springfield,  the  quantities  given  in  the  table  being 
estimated  by  the  Water  Commissioners  (not  exact  measurements), 
and  so  little  detailed  information  is  to  be  had  regarding  the 
amounts  used  for  different  purposes  that  only  very  general  deduc- 
tions are  possible.  However,  as  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
consumption  is  metered,  it  is  possible  to  show  in  a  measure  pro- 
portional to  the  actual  conditions  that  the  increase  of  consumption 
and  the  irregular  fluctuations  thereof  are  probably  confined  almost 
entirely  to  the  unmetered  portion  of  the  water.  From  the  first 
table  it  will  be  seen  that  the  consumption  per  inhabitant  as  well 

196 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 


TABLE  NO.  45, 


Average 

Dail\ 

CON- 

Number  of 

SUMPTION. 

Per   - 

Per- 

Average 

No.  of 

Average 

centage 

centage 

No.  of 

Con- 

Daily   Con- 

of Me- 

of total 

Con- 

Year. 

svim- 

sumption, 

Per 

Per 

ters  to 

Con- 

sumers 

ers. 

Gallons. 

Con- 

In- 

Me- 

Servi- 

sump- 

o P^^ 

sum- 
er. 

habi- 
tant. 

ces. 

ters. 

ces. 

tion 
Metered. 

Service. 

1893 

37.000 

4,-320,000 

117 

86 

7,000 

1.682 

23.9 

17.2 

5.30 

1894 

38,500 

4,524,510 

117 

87 

7,482 

1,947 

26.0 

17.0 

5.12 

1895 

41,000 

4.638,060 

113 

90 

7,900 

2.207 

27.9 

21.0 

5.19 

1896 

42,500 

4,819,828 

113 

88 

8.298 

2.299 

27.6 

21.2 

5.12 

1897 

44,000 

5,000.000 

113 

88 

8.721 

2.496 

28.6 

19.7 

5.04 

1898 

45,500 

5,142,500 

113 

89 

9.070 

2,727 

30.0 

21.6 

5.02 

1899 

47,000 

5,307.000 

113 

87 

9.456 

2.898 

30.6 

20.0 

4.97 

1900 

48,200 

5.471,500 

114 

88 

9.764 

3,122 

32.0 

21.2 

4.94 

1901 

50,000 

8.000,000 

160 

129 

10,034 

3,337 

32.3 

14.9 

4.98 

1902 

51,000 

8,300,000 

162 

128 

10,221 

3,537 

34.6 

15.4 

5.00 

1903 

54,000 

11,700,000 

216 

176 

10,471 

3.798 

36.2 

12.8 

5.16 

1904 

74,916 

9.720,000 

130 

128 

10,641 

3,987 

37.5 

17.9 

7.04 

TABLE  NO.  46. 


Average 
Daily  Con- 
sumption per 
Service  for 
all  Services, 
Gallons. 

Average  Daily 

co.vsumption, 

Gallons. 

Average  Daily  Consumption 
Per  Consumer. t 

Year. 

Per 
Meter. 

Per  Un- 

metered 

Service. 

* 

Per  Metered  Ser- 
vice. Including 
Manufacturing  and 
Part  of  Domestic 
Consumption. 

Per  Unmetered 
Service,  Including 
Part  of  Domestic 

and  All  Public 
Uses,  and  Unac- 
counted for  Water. 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

1900 

1901 

T902 

1903 

1904 

617 
604 
587 
581 
573 
567 
561 
560 
797 
812 
1,117 
913 

441 
394 
442 
444 
394 
407 
366 
373 
355 
360 
397 
438 

813 

817 

816 

802 

803 

811 

810 

823 

1,196 

1,243 

1,754 

1,462 

83 

77 
85 
87 
78 
81 
74 
76 
71 
72 
77 
62 

153 
160 
157 
157 
159 
161 
163 
167 
240 
248 
340 
208 

♦Number  of  unmetered  services  assumed  to  be  total  number  of  services  less  the 
number  of  meters  in  use. 

t Number  of  persons  per  unmetered  service  is  assumed  to  be  the  same  as  per  metered 
service,  and  in  both  cases  was  obtained  by  dividing  total  number  of  consumers  by  total 
number  of  services  in  use  for  corresponding  year. 


197 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

as  per  consumer  is  high,  in  spite  of  the  metering  of  about 
37.5  per  cent,  of  the  services,  which  percentage  includes  a  portion 
of  the  domestic  consumers,  possibly  about  one-third  the  total 
number. 

There  has  been  maintained  for  many  years  a  bureau  for  the 
inspection  of  the  fixtures  in  houses  not  metered,  and  considering 
the  limited  number  of  inspections  a  large  number  of  leaks  have 
been  discovered  and  stopped  each  year.  No  very  definite  conclu- 
sions can  be  drawn  from  these  inspections;  they  are  made  when 
the  inspectors  can  take  the  time  for  them  from  other  duties,  and 
hence  do  not  as  a  rule  cover  the  entire  city  each  year.  In  general 
terms  it  is  safe  to  say  that  leaks  are  now  more  frequent  and  in 
greater  proportion  to  the  number  of  fixtures  in  use  than  in  former 
years.  In  1893  the  general  average  of  leaks  found  and  stopped 
was  about  4  to  a  day's  work  of  an  inspector,  while  in  1904  the 
general  average  had  increased  to  about  6  leaks  per  day's  work. 
During  this  same  period  the  number  of  water  closets  had  increased 
from  9,768  to  20,171  and  the  number  of  bathtubs  from  4,270  to 
10,823.  The  ratio  of  water  closets  to  population  has  remained 
fairly  uniform  at  about  3.7  persons  per  closet,  while  the  ratio  of 
persons  to  bathtubs  has  decreased  from  8.6  persons  per  tub  in 
1893  to  about  5  or  6  persons  in  1904,  thus  indicating  a  general  in- 
creased use  of  more  sanitary  conveniences  with  the  increasing 
prosperity  of  the  city  during  this  period.  In  spite  of  these  inspec- 
tions, which  are  more  systematically  carried  on  than  in  many  cities 
and  which  for  several  years  have  resulted  in  the  stopping  of  nearly 
1,000  leaks  a  year,  their  effectiveness  when  measured  by  perma- 
nent results,  or  even  by  the  reduction  in  general  wastage,  is  incon- 
siderable. 

Using  the  recorded  amounts  of  water  passed  through  meters, 
with  the  population  and  number  of  services  for  each  year,  as  a 
basis  for  estimating  the  average  number  of  persons  per  service, 
the  relative  amounts  of  water  used  per  day,  through  the  metered 
and  unmetered  services,  and  the  amounts  per  capita,  deduced  as 
above  indicated,  would  be  approximately  as  shown  by  Table  46. 


198 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

The  uniform  rate  of  consumption  per  meter  and  per  metered 
consumer  (estimated)  as  compared  with  the  extremely  variable 
consumption  per  unmetered  consumer  (estimated)  indicates  deci- 
sively a  considerable  and  very  variable  amount  of  controllable 
wastage  by  unmetered  consumers.  If  data  could  be  obtained  re- 
.garding  the  quantities  of  water  used  for  public  and  manufacturing 
purposes,  as  well  as  the  number  of  manufacturing  and  domestic 
meters,  it  might  be  possible  to  indicate  the  probable  amount  of 
controllable  wastage. 

Although  about  37  per  cent,  of  the  services  in  Springfield  are 
metered  and  house-to-house  inspections  are  made  over  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  unmetered  premises  each  year,  the  combined 
effect  of  these  expedients  is  practically  ineffective  as  far  as  con- 
trolling wastage  is  concerned.  This  is  explained  by  the  fact  that 
metering  is  voluntary  and  at  the  expense  of  the  consumers ;  hence 
only  economical  consumers,  who  probably  would  not  in  any  event 
allow  water  to  waste  unnecessarily,  apply  for  meters,  and  the 
resultant  saving  of  water  is  on  use,  not  on  waste.  House-to-house 
inspections  have  here  been  demonstrated  as  of  practically  no  per- 
manent value  in  the  suppression  of  wastage.  Their  effect  is  only 
on  a  very  small  part  of  the  supply  at  one  time  and  practically  as 
soon  as  an  inspector  leaves  the  premises  carelessness  again  prevails 
and  wastage  is  resumed. 

SYRACUSE,  N.  Y. 

SYRACUSE  has  had  an  interesting  experience  with  the  waste 
reduction  problem  and  apparently  has  not  yet  secured  the 
full  results  probably  attainable,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  about 
half  of  the  total  consumption  and  72  per  cent,  of  the  services  are 
metered. 

Were  it  not  that  in  recent  years  an  attempt  has  been  made  to 
classify  the  amounts  of  water  used  for  different  purposes  it  would 
not  be  possible  to  explain  the  high  rate  of  consumption  or  locate 
the  principal  sources  of  wastage. 

The  following  table  gives  the  data  regarding  population,  water 
consumption,  consumption  per  capita  per  diem,  number  of  services 
and  meters  in  use,  percentages  of  services  metered,  number  of  in- 
habitants per  service  and  average  daily  consumption  per  service: 

199 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

TABLE  NO.  47. 


Average 

Average 
Daily 
Con- 

No. of 

No.  of 

Per  cent, 
of  Servi- 

Inhab- 

Average 
Daily 

Year. 

Popula- 

Daily Con- 

sump- 

Services 

Me- 

ces to 

itants 

Con- 

tion. 

sump- 

tion 

in  Use. 

ters. 

Me- 

Per 

sump- 

tion. 

Per 

Capita. 

ters. 

Service. 

tion  Per 
Service. 

1894 

97.000 

6,560.000 

68.0 

2,974 

1,246 

44 

32.4 

2.210 

1895 

99,000 

7.000,000* 

71.0 

4.045 

2,167 

53 

24.5 

1,730 

1896 

101,000 

7.740,000 

77.0 

7,436 

3.696 

50 

13.6 

1,040 

1897 

103.000 

7,740,750 

75.0 

9,944 

4,700* 

47 

10.3 

780 

1898 

105.000 

8,553,000 

81.0 

13,237 

5,806 

44 

7.9 

647 

1899 

107.000 

10.030,000 

93.0 

13,500* 

6,700* 

50 

7.9 

744 

1900 

108,374 

10.995.000 

102.0 

13,750* 

8,037 

58 

7.9 

800 

1901 

111,000 

11,604.000 

105.0 

14,100* 

8,600* 

61 

7.9 

820 

1902 

113,000 

11,927,000 

105.0 

14,598 

9.247 

63 

7.7 

816 

1903 

115,000 

12.254.000 

106.6 

15,784 

10,063 

67 

7.3 

776 

1904 

117,000 

11,962,000 

102.0 

15,969 

11,059 

72 

7.3 

747 

♦Approximate. 

Several  interesting  points  are  worthy  of  attention  in  this  tab- 
ulation and  are  explained  by  the  history  of  the  plant. 

Prior  to  January  1st,  1892,  the  supply  of  water  was  under  pri- 
vate control,  the  water  having  been  supplied  largely  from  springs 
and  having  been  very  limited  in  quantity ;  so  much  so,  in  fact,  that 
the  works  were  taxed  to  the  limit  to  supply  2,700  water  takers 
through  about  40  miles  of  street  mains. 

When  the  city  purchased  the  works  in  1892  steps  were  immedi- 
ately taken  to  secure  a  new  supply  from  Skaneateles  Lake,  and  by 
July,  1894j  the  works  were  completed  and  the  old  supply  discon- 
tinued. 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  1894  there  were  but  2,974  services  in  use 
in  a  city  with  97,000  inhabitants,  a  ratio  of  32.4  persons  per  service. 
The  per  capita  consumption  given  for  that  year,  68  gallons  per 
day,  and  that  for  each  of  the  four  successive  years,  bears  no  rela- 
tion whatever  to  the  actual  consumption  per  capita  among  the 
consumers  and  points  out  one  of  the  dangers  in  making  compari- 
sons between  the  water  consumption  of  different  cities  when  all 
the  conditions  are  not  fully  understood.  Actually,  during  these 
early  years  the  consumption  per  consumer  was  greatly  in  excess 
of  that  at  the  present  day,  as  can  be  seen  by  a  comparison  of  the 
relative  amounts  of  water  consumed  per  service.  This  great 
reduction  in  consumption  per  service,  however,   is  not  in  any 

200 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

great  measure  due  to  suppression  of  wastage,  but  to  the  relatively 
large  amounts  of  water  used  by  trades  and  commercial  interests 
and  taken  for  public  buildings,  watering  troughs,  fountains,  street 
sprinkling,  etc.,  which  amounts  were  nearly  as  great  in  1894  as 
in  1904. 

An  analysis  of  the  distribution  of  the  water  used  for  different 
purposes  in  1903  and  1904  is  instructive  in  showing  that  at  the 
present  time  probably  almost  as  large  a  reduction  of  wastage  can 
be  made  in  water  used  for  public  purposes  as  in  that  taken  for 
domestic  consumption. 

In  1904  the  distribution  was  as  follows,  in  gallons  per  day: 


TABLE  NO.  48. 


Metered 
Water. 

Unmetered 
Water. 

Total. 

Domestic  consumption. 
Public  uses . 

1,112,000 
551,000 

4,606,000 

4,830,000* 
1,563,000 

5,942,000 
2,114,000 

Commercial     and     mis- 
cellaneous  

4,606,000 

Totals 

6,269,000 

6,393,000 

12,662,000 

♦Unmetered   domestic   consumption  includes  all    unaccounted   for  water. 

Reducing  these  to  gallons  per  capita  per  day,  the  consumption 
for  different  purposes  would  be  as  follows : 


Metered   domestic   consumption 9.5 

Unmetered   domestic   consumption,   including  all 

waste   41.5 

Total  domestic  consumption  and  unaccounted-for 

water    

Public  uses  metered 4.7 

Public  uses  not  metered 13.3 

Total  public  uses 

Commercial  and  manufacturing  uses    (metered) . 


gals,  per  day 


«      (t 


.1.0 


18.0 
39.3 


Total  per  capita  consumption, 


108.3 


<<       (( 


As  under  very  favorable  conditions  it  would  be  unlikely  that 
more  than  80  per  cent,  of  the  total  consumption  could  be  account- 
ed for,  due  to  the  under  registration  of  meters,  leaks  from  mains, 

201 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

service  pipes,  etc.,  if  20  gallons  be  deducted  from  the  unmetered 
domestic  supply  (which  includes  wastage  and  unaccounted  for 
water),  the  probable  per  capita  consumption  would  be  at  present 
as  follows: 


Domestic    consumption 31.0  gals,  per  day 

Commercial  and  manufacturing  uses 39.3  "       "      " 

Public   uses 18.0  "       "      " 

Unaccounted  for  water 20.0  "       "     " 

Total 108.3  "       "     " 


It  will  be  noted  that  the  total  per  capita  consumption  here 
reached  is  108.3  gallons  per  day,  as  compared  with  102  gallons 
given  in  the  first  table.  The  difference  arises  from  the  fact  that 
in  1904  pitometer  tests  were  made  of  the  discharging  capacity  of 
the  19  miles  of  30-inch  conduit  bringing  the  water  to  the  city,  and 
the  result  showed  a  discharge  at  the  rate  of  about  700,000  gallons 
per  day  in  excess  of  the  calculated  discharge  arrived  at  by  the 
methods  employed  in  former  years.  The  correction  has  been 
made  in  the  foregoing  calculations  of  per  capita  consumption  by 
adding  700,000  gallons  per  day  to  the  unmetered  domestic  con- 
sumption ;  but  the  quantities  given  in  the  first  table  have  not  been 
corrected,  owing  to  uncertainty  as  to  whether  or  not  the  same 
ratio  of  correction  should  be  applied  to  the  consumption  in  former 
years. 

During  1903  meters  were  placed  on  all  puIdHc  schools,  nearly- 
all  the  Fire  Department  buildings,  the  City  Hall  and  the  Public 
Library.  In  buildings  where  motors  were  operated  by  water  a 
separate  meter  was  placed  on  such  service.  The  schools  were 
metered  in  February.  Table  49,  on  opposite  page,  shows  the  per 
capita  consumption  in  gallons. 

It  will  be  seen  that  with  the  exception  of  the  Commercial,  May 
and  Willard  schools,  where  excessive  wastage  had  prevailed,  the 
amounts  used  at  the  other  schools  had  not  been  materially 
changed,  indicating,  as  is  usual,  that  wastage  is  confined  to  a  rela- 
tively small  number  of  consumers.  No  water  for  motor  uses  Is 
included  in  the  amounts  given  for  the  different  schools. 

202 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 


TABLE  NO.  49, 


School. 


Average 

Daily 

Attendance. 

(1903.) 


Per  Capita  Consumption  in  Gallons. 


Average  for 

March,  April 

and  May. 

(1903.) 


Average  for 

October  and 

November. 

(1903.) 


Average  for 

the  Year. 

(1904.) 


Jefferson , 

Salina 

Grant 

Townsend , 

Garfield 

Franklin , 

Prescott 

Clinton 

Lincoln , 

Vine 

Frazer 

Genesee 

Commercial 

May 

Tompkins 

Porter , 

Gere 

Madison , 

Sumner 

Washington  Irving 

Willard 

Montgomery 

Putnam 

Andrew  Jackson.  . 

Croton 

New  High  School. . 

Seymour 

Truant  School. .  .  . 

Delaware 

Grace 

Merrick 

Bellevue 

Danforth 

Elmwood 

Brighton 


314 
612 
304 
481 
434 
826 
574 
522 
414 
218 
428 
412 

86 
426 
388 
778 
352 
529 
358 
439 

81 
471 
650 
353 
605 
1,267 
665 

16 
523 
259 
294 
257 
348 
224 
868 


21.0 

0.1 

23.9 

5.5 

5.6 

3.3 

8.2 

15.4 

8.3 

3.5 

13.0 

4.0 

425.0 

114.0 

6.8 

4.7 

29.7 

37.6 

18.9 

29.6 

161.4 

4.4 

17.0 

3.4 

34.6 

9.1 

24.5 

36.7 

7.8 

24.0 

25.3 

34.3 

23.1 

12.5 

4.1 


16.9 
0.1 
7.2 
5.6 
3.8 
7.0 
5.8 

17.3 
8 
4 
9 
3 

70 

36 
4 
2 

27 

29 

17 

27 

75 
4 

17 
3 

27 

10 

24 

12 
9 

27 

10 


4 
5 
6 
8 
5 
2 
4 
9 
5 
7 
3 
1 
5 
4 
2 
7 
5 
1 
3 
2 
5 
4 
2 
8.0 
18.4 
43.9 
1.5 


31. 

0. 

10. 

7. 
5. 


9.8 
6.8 


23.6 
12.2 

5.7 
16.9 

8.4 

108.1 

64.6 

6.7 

5.0 
35.5 
36.5 
27.6 
23.9 
66.6 

5.6 
28.8 

6.4 
22.7 
14.7 
50.0 
33.0 
12.2 
25.4 
11.2 
10.7 
17.3 
43.9 

4.3 


203 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

In  percentage  of  the  total  supply  the  amounts  of  water  used 
for  different  purposes  in  1904  were  as  follows : 

Metered.  per  cent. 

Commercial    uses 26.0 

Schools,   Fire  Dept.    buildings,  etc 4.4 

Elevators  and  organ  motors 10.4 

Metered   domestic  consumption 8.7 

Total   metered   water 49 . 5  per  cent. 

Un  METERED. 

Unmetered   (estimated  uses) — 

Flushing  and  sprinkling  streets,  bridges,  etc.      4.1 

Watering  troughs  and  fountains 8.3 

Unmetered   domestic  consumption,  waste   and 

unaccounted  for  water 38.1 

Total  unmetered  water 50 . 5  per  cent. 

Grand  total   (metered  and  unmetered) 100.0    "      " 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  water  used  for  elevators, 
motors,  watering  troughs  and  fountains  amounted  to  nearly  one- 
fifth  of  the  entire  supply. 

In  the  annual  report  for  1904  it  is  estimated  that  the  average 
daily  metered  use  for  each  domestic  consumer  is  81.2  gallons ;  and 
based  on  this  it  is  stated  that  the  10,653  schedule  consumers  should 
ordinarily  use  865,000  gallons  of  water  per  day,  from  which  cal- 
culation it  is  deduced  that  a  fair  presumption  would  be  that  nearly 
4,000,000  gallons  daily  is  lost  through  waste  in  schedule  services, 
underground  leakage,  under-registration  of  meters,  under-esti- 
mating of  unmetered  public  uses,  fires,  etc. 

Upon  this  assumption  the  total  average  daily  domestic  con- 
sumption would  have  been  in  1904 : 

Gallons 

Metered    domestic    consumption 1,112,290 

Schedule  domestic  consumers 865,000 

Total    1,977,290 

which  would  have  been  equivalent  to  about  16  3-4  gallons  per 
capita  per  diem  based  on  the  entire  population  of  the  city. 

Summary. — No  specific  data  in  regard  to  waste  reduction  can 
yet  be  derived  from  the  Syracuse  records,  owing  to  the  rapid  rate 
at  which  new  services  have  been  connected  with  the  mains  since 
the  Skaneateles  supply  was  introduced,  and  the  large  population 
for  the  relatively  small  number  of  consumers  for  the  first  four 
years  thereafter. 

204 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

Practically  half  the  entire  supply  is  sold  by  measure  and 
about  72  per  cent,  of  the  services  are  metered,  yet  the  per  capita 
consumption  with  about  7.3  persons  per  service  is  over  108  gallons 
per  day. 

An  unusually  large  proportion  of  the  supply  is  used  for  public 
purposes,  notably  for  watering  troughs  and  fountains,  and  a  rela- 
tively large  amount  for    elevators  and  motors. 

The  meters  are  placed  and  kept  in  repair  by  the  city  at  the 
expense  of  the  consumers.  The  use  of  meters  is  compulsory  on 
the  services  of  saloons,  restaurants,  drug  stores,  bakeries,  dental 
offices  with  fountain  jets,  photograph  galleries,  printing  offices, 
laundries,  breweries,  soda  water  manufacturers,  factories,  foun- 
dries, fountains,  livery  stables,  steam  engines,  motors,  green- 
houses, business  blocks,  elevators,  fire  services,  barber  shops,  urin- 
als, machine  shops  and  air  pumps.  The  city  can  compel  the  use 
of  meters  on  wasteful  domestic  consumers. 

The  minimum  charge  by  meter  is  $5.00  per  year  for  domestic 
consumers,  36,000  cubic  feet  being  allowed  per  family,  with  an 
additional  charge  for  extra  quantities  according  to  the  extra 
amount  used. 

The  meter  rates  are  as  follows : 


TABLE  NO.  50. 

MINIMUM  CHARGE  FOR  ANY  SERVICE  IS  $5.00  PER  ANNUM. 
MONTHLY  METER  RATES   (IN  CUBIC  FEET)  : 


1.900  or  less $0.14      per    100  cu.  ft. 

1,900  to     2,400    inc.,  lump  sum, $2.65 

2,400  to    6,000 0.11 

6,000  to    8,300    inc.,  lump  sum, 6 . 60 

8,300  to  14,400 0. 08 

14,400  to  17,700    inc.,  lump  sum, 11 .  50 

17,700  to  21,000 0.06^      " 

21,000  to  27,300    inc.,  lump  sum, 13.65 

27,300  to  40,000 0.05 

40,000  to  57,000    inc.,  lumn  sum 20.00 

57,100  and  up ! 0.03^      " 


205 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 
TAUNTON,  MASS. 

TAUNTON  is  a  city  where,  since  1898,  all  manufacturing  and 
from  35  to  40  per  cent,  of  the  domestic  consumers  have  been 
metered. 

The  following  tables  relating  to  the  water  consumption,  meters, 
services,  and  the  proportion  of  the  consumption  used  for  different 
purposes,  have  been  compiled  from  the  Annual  Reports  of  the 
Water  Board: 

TABLE  NO.  5L 


Average 

Daily  Con- 

Number of 

sumption. 

Average 

Percent- 

No. of 

Daily   Con- 

age of 

Vear 

Con- 

sumption, 

Meters 

Meters  to 

sumers. 

Gallons. 

Per 

Per 

Servi- 

Services. 

Cap- 

Con- 

ces. 

Domes- 

Manu- 

ita. 

sumer. 

tic. 

factur- 
ing. 

Total. 

1898 

26,840 

1.303,610 

48 

48.6 

4,233 

1,469 

154 

1,623 

38.3 

1899 

26,890 

1,443,177 

53 

53.7 

4,372 

1,572 

161 

1.733 

39.6 

1900 

26,116 

1,619,985 

53 

62.0 

4,502 

1,669 

163 

1,832 

40.7 

1901 

28,000 

1,729,354 

56 

65.0 

4,618 

1,769 

165 

1.934 

41.8 

1902 

27,000 

1,534,740 

49 

54.0 

4,698 

1,871 

179 

2,050 

43.1 

1903 

27,350 

1,519,629 

49 

54.0 

4,753 

1,933 

201 

2.134 

44.8 

1904 

27.500 

1,755,201 

56 

64.0 

4,873 

2.199 

45.1 

Average  number  of  consumers  per  service,  1898-1904=5.93. 


TABLE  NO.  52. 


Percentage  of  Total  Supplt  Passed 
Through  Meters 

Yeab. 

For  Domestic 
Consumption. 

For  Manufactur- 
ing Consumption. 

Total. 

Unmetered  Water  and 
Water  Unaccounted 
for. 

1898 

13.6 
15.7 
13.7 
13.7 
15.7 
16.5 

26.6 
24.2 
23.8 
22.4 

28.2 
30.8 

40.2 
39.9 
37.5 
37.1 
43.9 
47.3 
37.0 

59.8 

1899 

60.1 

1900 

62.5 

1901 

62.9 

1902 

56.1 

1903 

52.7 

1904 

63.0 

206 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

While  no  condusive  deductions  can  be  drawn  from  these  rec- 
ords, it  will  be  seen  that  although  all  manufacturing  consumers 
are  metered,  there  is  an  apparently  irrational  fluctuation  in  the 
consumption,  chargeable,  probably,  to  wastage  from  the  fixtures 
of  unmetered  consumers. 

An  indication  that  this  is  the  case  can  be  deduced  from  the 
records  of  metered  domestic  consumption  and  numbers  of  metered 
domestic  services. 

If,  for  instance,  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  consumption  from 
the  unmetered  domestic  services,  if  metered,  would  have  been  at 
the  same  rate  as  has  obtained  each  year  for  the  metered  domestic 
consumers,  the  total  legitimate  domestic  consumption  each  year 
would  have  been  as  follows : 

1898 18.3  gallons         1902 20.5  gallons 

1899 22.5       ''  1903 21.0       " 

1900 20.0       "  1904 21.5       " 

1901 22.5       " 

which  would  have  given  for  ideal  conditions  in  Taunton  the  fol- 
lowing distribution  of  the  total  consumption  per  consumer : 

TABLE  NO.  53. 


Water  Used,  in  Gallons,  Per  Consumer  Per  Dav. 

Year. 

For  Manufac- 
turing  Purposes. 

For  Domestic 
Consumption. 

Balance. 

Total 
Actual 

Metered. 

If  Completely 
Metered. 

Consumption. 

1898 

13. 
13. 

14.8 
14.6 
15.2 
16.6 
14.7* 

18.3 
22.5 
20.5 
22.5 
20.5 
21.0 
21.5 

17.3 

18.2 
26.7 
27.9 
18.3 
16.4 
27.8 

48.6 

1899 

1900 

1901 

53.7 
62.0 
65.0 

1902 

54.0 

1903 

1904. 

54.0 
64.0 

♦Estimated. 


207 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


TABLE  NO.  54. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  CONSUMPTION  IN    GALLONS    PER    CON- 
SUMER PER  DIEM. 


Year. 

Manufac- 
turing 
Consumers. 

Domestic  Consumers,  Public 

Uses,  and  Unaccounted-for 

Water. 

Total. 

All  Metered. 

Metered.** 

Unmetered. 

1898 

13.0 
13.0 

14.8 
14.6 
15.2 
16.6 
14.7* 

6.6 

8.4 
8.5 
8.9 
8.5 
8.9 
9.0 

29.0 
32.3 
38.7 
41.5 
30.3 
28.5 
40.3 

48.6 

1899 

1900 

1901 

53.7 
62.0 
65.0 

1902 

54.0 

1903 

1904 

54.0 
64.0 

♦Estimated. 


**Part  of  Domestic. 


While  the  above  figures  for  domestic  consumption  are  esti- 
mates, based  on  the  rate  of  consumption  of  the  metered  domestic 
consumers,  and  therefore  not  claimed  to  be  exact,  it  is  probable 
that  the  error  in  each  case  is  not  great  enough  to  affect  the  gen- 
eral conclusion  that  the  fluctuations  in  the  amounts  of  water  in 
the  column  headed  ^'Balance"  (which  are  the  differences  between 
the  actual  per  capita  consumption  per  consumer  and  the  sums  of 
the  actual  manufacturing  and  estimated  domestic  consumptions) 
are  indications  of  considerable  preventable  wastage  controllable 
by  complete  metering. 

While  sufficient  data  are  not  available  to  carry  this  analysis 
further,  it  is  significant  that  with  all  the  manufacturing  and  nearly 
half  the  domestic  consumption  metered,  the  water  not  accounted 
for  (assuming  the  other  half  of  the  domestic  consumers  to  be 
metered,  and  consuming  water  at  the  same  rate  as  those  now 
metered)  should  still  have  amounted  to  43  per  cent,  of  the  entire 
consumption  in  1904. 

The  meters  are  the  property  of  the  consumers,  but  are  set  by 
the  Water  Department. 

In  addition  to  testing  meters  when  suspected  of  incorrect  reg- 
istration, the  Department  makes  a  systematic  practice  of  testing 
all  meters  when  they  shall  have  been  in  use  for  ten  years.  As  a 
summary  of  many  years'  experience  with  meters  in  Taunton,  the 

208 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

Water  Board  concludes  that  the  leading  manufacturers  of  water 
meters  make  devices  which,  on  a  general  average,  are  durable, 
accurate  and  trustworthy,  but  that  there  are  individual  faulty- 
meters  of  all  makes.  In  over  13,000  tests  the  average  recorded 
quantities  of  water  passed  were  slightly  less  than  the  actual  quan- 
tities, indicating,  on  the  whole,  that  when  the  meters  are  prop- 
erly cared  for,  they  are  fair  and  equitable  in  their  records  both 
for  the  supplier  and  the  consumer,  with  a  general  leaning  in  favor 
of  the  latter. 

Summary. — With  all  manufacturing  and  about  45  per  cent, 
of  the  domestic  consumption  in  Taunton  metered  there  is  still  a 
considerable  wastage  of  water,  the  exact  amount  of  which  cannot 
be  determined  from  the  records;  but  its  extent  in  recent  years 
has  been  quite  variable,  and  probably  rarely  less  than  20  per  cent, 
of  the  entire  supply,  estimated  allowances  being  made  for  water 
used  for  public  purposes,  under-registration  of  meters,  slippage 
of  pumps,  leakage  from  mains,  etc. 

The  most  important  deducti^^n  seems  to  be  that,  as  in  most 
cities,  the  stoppage  of  wastage  on  half  the  domestic  consumers 
is  not  sufficient  to  give  satisfactory  relief,  since  the  other  half  may 
in  certain  years  waste  as  much  as  all  the  domestic  consumers  com- 
bined have  wasted  in  other  years. 

WELLESLEY,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

WELLES  LEY  is  a  small  residential  city  in  which  at  the  pres- 
ent time  all  water  is  sold  by  meter.  The  entire  pumpage, 
with  the  exception  of  that  used  for  extinguishing  fires  and  for 
flushing  out  dead  ends,  passes  to  consumers  through  meters. 

In  1888  the  pumpage  had  increased  so  very  materially,  with 
no  proportional  increase  in  population,  that  excessive  wastage  was 
apparent,  particularly  in  very  cold  and  very  hot  weather.  In  1893 
the  Water  Commissioners  decided  that  the  only  way  to  reduce  the 
excessive  consumption  was  to  make  a  general  application  of  me- 
ters and  a  resolution  was  therefore  adopted  to  meter  all  consumers 
having  more  than  one  fixture  and  charge  a  minimum  price  of 
$10.00  per  year  and  a  rental  of  $2.00  per  year  and  upward  for  the 
meters,  according  to  size.  This  rate  entitled  the  consumer  to 
33,333  gallons  per  year,  any  excess  above  this  quantity  to  be 
charged  for  at  25  cents  per  1,000  gallons. 

209 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

By  the  end  of  1893  practically  all  consumers  were  metered  and 
the  consumption  had  been  reduced  over  30  per  cent.  During  that 
year  the  meter  rates  were  readjusted  to  25  cents  per  1,000  gallons 
with  a  minimum  charge  of  $6.00  per  annum. 

In  1894  the  town  acquired  by  purchase  all  the  private  meters 
then  in  use. 

During  1897  tests  were  made  to  locate  leaks  in  the  mains  and 
service  pipes,  resulting  in  the  discovery  of  several  small  leaks  but 
none  of  consequence. 

Prior  to  1900  the  meter  rates  were  altered  to  allow  each  taker 
16,000  gallons  per  annum  for  the  minimum  price  of  $6.00  in 
advance  and  25  cents  per  1,000  gallons  for  any  excess,  with  no 
rental  charge  for  the  use  of  the  meters.  These  rates  are  now  in 
force. 

The  following  table  summarizes  the  statistics  regarding  the 
consumption  of  water  and  use  of  meters  in  Wellesley : 


TABLE  NO.  55. 


Average  Daily  Con- 

Proportion of 

sumption,  IN 

Number 

Consumers 

Gallons. 

OF 

Metered. 

Pop- 

Con- 

Year. 

ula- 

sum- 

tion. 

ers. 

Per 

Per 

Do- 

In- 

Con- 

Ser- 

Me- 

mes- 

Manufac- 

Total. 

hab- 
itant. 

sum- 
er. 

vices. 

ters. 

tic. 

turing. 

No 

1887 

3,300 

1,500 

105,490 

32 

70 

302 

48 

data 

No  data 

1888 

3,400 

1,726 

138,156 

40 

80 

412 

66 

" 

" 

1889* 

" 

" 

1890 

3,590 

2,650 

255,418 

7i 

96 

503 

93 

" 

" 

1891* 

.  . 

" 

" 

1892 

3,625 

2,866 

239,520 

66 

84 

584 

164 

" 

" 

1893 

3,800 

2,901 

200,871 

55 

71 

610 

566 

All 

Pract'Uy  all 

1894 

4,000 

2,933 

186,037 

46 

63 

647 

588 

" 

" 

1895 

4,229 

3,030 

175,345 

41 

58 

685 

656 

" 

" 

' 

1896* 

" 

" 

* 

1897 

4,500 

3,196 

176,714 

39 

55 

766 

7i6 

" 

" 

' 

1898 

4,650 

3,874 

166,765 

36 

44 

795 

737 

" 

* 

1899* 

" 

" 

* 

1900 

5,072 

4,929 

238,884 

47 

48 

878 

799 

" 

"         " 

1901 

5,240 

5,097 

245,220 

47 

48 

898 

854 

" 

All 

1902 

5,350 

5,147 

257,001 

48 

50 

893 

877 

" 

" 

1903 

5,417 

5,324 

293,704 

54 

55 

916 

911 

" 

" 

1904 

5,793 

5,700 

314,219 

54 

55 

949 

953 

*For  the  years  omitted  it  has  been  impossible  to  seciire  copies  of   the  Annual  Reports 
of  the  Water  Board. 

210 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

We  have  here  a  carefully  kept  record  of  the  consumption  of 
water  in  a  strictly  residential  town  where,  for  the  last  five  years, 
every  consumer  has  been  supplied  through  a  meter  and  where  all 
water  used  can  be  separately  accounted  for  except  that  used  for 
extinguishing  fires  and  flushing  out  the  mains.  All  the  water  is 
pumped  and  therefore  the  unaccounted-for  water  would  include 
the  slippage  of  the  pump  plungers,  the  under-registration  of  me- 
ters, the  water  used  for  fires  and  for  flushing  street  mains,  and 
the  leakage  from  mains  and  service  pipes  outside  the  houses. 

The  detailed  distribution  of  the  water  for  the  years  1901-1904 
inclusive  was  as  follows : 

TABLE  NO.  56. 


Water  Used  by 

Used  for 

Street 

Sprinkling. 

Unaccoimted 
for  Water  in- 
cluding Slip  of 
Pumps  and 
Meters,  Wa- 
ter  for   Fires, 
Flushing  of 
Mains  and 
Leakage. 

Year. 

Domestic 
Consumers. 

Manufac- 
turing 
Consumers. 

Total' Con- 
sumption Per 
Day,' Per 
Consiuner. 

Metered. 

Metered. 

Estimated. 

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

24.3 
25.4 

28.2 
28.6 

0.3 
0.3 
0.4 
0.4 

2.8 
2.2 
3.2 
2.5 

20.6 
22.1 
23.2 
23.5 

48.0 
50.0 
55.0 
55.0 

The  unaccounted-for  water,  therefore,  averages  for  the  four 
years  43  per  cent  of  the  reported  pumpage.  An  allowance  of  5  per 
cent,  for  under-registration  of  meters  and  15  per  cent,  for  the  slip- 
page of  the  pumps  would  make  the  average  daily  domestic  con- 
sumption for  these  four  years  28  gallons  per  capita  and  the  total 
consumption  45,  leaving  14  gallons  or  31  per  cent,  of  the  total  to 
cover  water  used  for  fires,  flushing  mains  and  water  possibly  leak- 
ing from  mains  and  service  pipes. 

On  examining  the  consumption  of  water  per  consumer  and 
per  inhabitant,  it  will  be  noted  that  in  1887  the  apparent  consump- 
tion was  only  32  gallons  per  inhabitant,  whereas  the  actual  con- 
sumption per  consumer  was  70  gallons  per  day.  With  no  means 
in  force  to  restrict  wastage  the  consumption  rapidly  increased 
until  1890  when  it  reached  96  gallons  per  consumer.    During  the 


211 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

next  three  years  meters  were  placed  on  all  domestic,  and  practi- 
cally all  manufacturing  consumers,  with  the  result  that  by  1895 
wastage  had  been  reduced  by  38  gallons  per  consumer  per  day, 
representing  a  saving  of  40  per  cent,  of  the  total  pumpage.  Since 
1895  the  amount  of  water  pumped  per  capita  has  averaged  for 
each  year  considerably  less  than  this,  the  least  yearly  average  hav- 
ing been  43  gallons  in  1898,  which  was  less  than  that  in  1890  by 
48  gallons  per  day. 

If  the  pumpage  were  metered  instead  of  calculated  from 
plunger  displacements,  the  total  consumption  would  be  less  than 
given  in  the  tabulations  and  the  domestic  consumption  somewhat 
more,  thus  reducing  the  amount  of  unaccounted  for  water.  Proba- 
bly the  average  actual  consumption  per  capita  among  the  domes- 
tic consumers  is  about  30  gallons  per  capita  daily,  the  manufactur- 
ing consumption  only  about  0.5  gallons  per  capita,  and  the  un- 
accounted for  water  not  over  14  gallons  per  capita.  As  a  rule 
there  is  very  little  known  regarding  the  slippage  of  pumps  in 
water  works  stations.  Most  Superintendents  allow  from  4  to  10 
per  cent.,  but  it  is  probable  that  there  are  few  pumps  in  opera- 
tion which,  in  a  yearly  average,  will  check  up  within  10  per  cent, 
of  the  true  quantity  of  water  pumped. 

Summary. — The  reduction  of  the  consumption  of  water  in 
an  amount  equal  to  30,  and  possibly  to  40,  per  cent,  of  the  pump- 
age has  been  effected  by  metering  every  consumer  in  the  city; 
and  this  reduction  represents  the  suppression  of  useless  wastage 
on  the  part  of  domestic  consumers  only. 

The  results  have  been  satisfactory  and  permanent.  At  the 
present  time  the  domestic  consumption  in  this  strictly  resdential 
city  is  apparently  about  30  gallons  per  day  per  consumer,  and  the 
unaccounted  for  water  an  unknown  amount,  owing  to  uncertainty 
in  the  estimation  of  the  total  pumpage. 


WEST  ORANGE,  NEW  JERSEY. 

WEST  ORANGE,  a  suburban  residential  village  with  about 
6,000  inhabitants,  is  supplied  with  water  by  a  private 
company  which  purchases  its  water  from  the  Montclair  Water 

212 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

Company  by  meter  measurement  and  sells  it  by  meter  to  all  con- 
sumers. Being  a  private  corporation,  no  details  or  statistical 
data  have  been  published.  Regarding  the  accounting  for  the 
water  sold,  Mr.  Carroll  Ph.  Bassett,  C  E.,  Ph.  D.,  Consulting 
Engineer,  writes :  ''In  West  Orange  we  buy  our  water  by  meter 
and  sell  it  largely  by  meter,  and  we  have  found  it  practically  im- 
possible to  account  for  more  than  80  per  cent,  of  the  amount  re- 
ceived on  a  system  of  30  miles  of  pipe,  with  a  pressure  varying 
from  40  pounds  to  115  pounds;  but  we  keep  reasonably  close  to 
this  percentage  most  of  the  time  by  great  care  in  shutting  out 
leaks." 

YONKERS,  NEW  YORK. 

THE  water  supply  of  Yonkers  is  pumped  and  sold  entirely  by 
meter.  In  the  following  Tables  no  allowance  has  been 
made  for  the  slippage  of  the  pumps  nor  for  the  under-registra- 
tion  of  meters,  no  reliable  data  having  been  secured  by  which 
such  allowances  could  accurately  be  made.  The  records  are  there- 
fore of  interest  in  demonstrating  that  where  even  an  approximate 
estimate  can  be  made  of  the  quantity  of  water  furnished  by  com- 
putation from  pump  plunger  displacements,  and  when  all  water 
is  sold  and  used  through  meters,  it  is  still  impossible  to  account 
for  nearly  half  of  the  total  quantity  supposed  to  have  been  sup- 
plied. In  this  respect  the  records  of  these  Water  Works  are  in- 
valuable. In  many  cities  arbitrary  corrections  are  made  for  these 
losses,  with  no  statements  of  the  basis  upon  which  they  were 
made,  and  hence  from  such  records  it  is  impossible  to  deduce 
exact  data.  In  the  case  of  Yonkers  it  is  different.  No  allowances 
have  been  made  and  the  quantities  given  show  precisely  the  con- 
ditions that  have  obtained. 

The  following  table  shows  the  population,  average  daily  con- 
sumption per  consumer,  number  of  services  and  number  of  meters 
in  use : 


213 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

TABLE  NO.  57. 


Year. 

Popula- 
tion 
Supplied. 

Average 
Daily  Con- 
sumption, 

Gallons.* 

Average 
Daily 

Consump- 
tion Per 

Consvmier, 
Gallons. 

No.  of 
Servi- 
ces. 

No.  of 
Me- 
ters. 

Miles 

of 
Mains. 

No.  of 

Consum- 
ers Per 
Service. 

1900 

1901 

1902 

1903 

1904 

46,500 
48,000 
51,000 
55,000 
59,000 

3,626,564 
4,098,509 
4,540,924 

4,777,452 
5,529,531 

78 
84 
89 
88 
94 

4,968 
5,238 
5,495 
5,675 
5,918 

4,852 
5,012 
5,249 
5,644 
5,981 

80.08 
84.66 
88.84 
91.19 
92.99 

9.4 
9.3 
9.3 
9.7 
9.9 

*No  allowance  made  for  slip  of  pumps. 

TABLE  NO.  5S. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  SUPPLY  IN  GALLONS  PER  CAPITA 
PER  DAY. 


Year. 

Manu- 
factur- 
ing. 

Domestic. 

Public 
Uses. 

Special 
Uses.** 

Unac- 
counted 
For.* 

Total. 

1900 

13 
16 
22 
22 
24 

18 
19 
19 
20 
20 

.4 
3.0 
3.0 
2.0 

2.0 

9.0 
4.6 
5.0 
7.0 
7.5 

37.6 
42.4 
40.0 
37.0 
40.5 

78 

1901 

84 

1902 

89 

1903 

88 

1904 

94 

♦Includes  slippage  of  pumps,  under-registration  of  meters  and  all  waste  and  other 
losses. 

**Mainly  water  fvimished  to  24th  Ward  of  N.  Y.  City. 

Practically  all  the  water  drawn  from  the  mains  in  Yonkers 
for  domestic,  manufacturing  and  public  uses  is  metered  and  hence 
can  be  accounted  for  as  fully  as  in  any  American  city  where  the 
total  supply  is  not  measured  as  it  leaves  the  pumping  stations,  the 
only  uncertainties  being  in  the  amount  of  slip  to  allow  for  the 
pumps  and  the  loss  by  under-registration  of  the  meters. 

From  the  previous  Table  it  will  be  seen  that  without  making 
allowances  for  slip  and  under-registration  the  total  amount  of 
unaccounted  for  water  has  varied  from  37  to  43  gallons  per  con- 
sumer per  day. 

Summary. — All  the  water  in  Yonkers  is  sold  by  measure. 

The  reported  pumpage  is  not  corrected  for  slip  and  hence  is 
too  high.  No  figures  are  given  by  which  to  apply  corrections  in 
order  to  get  at  the  correct  amounts.    Without  making  any  correc- 

214 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

tions  the  domestic  consumption  is  about  20  gallons  per  capita  per 
day  per  consumer,  and  the  unaccounted  for  water  about  twice 
that  amount. 

Actually,  judging  from  the  records  of  cities  receiving  their 
whole  supply  through  meters,  and  selling  through  meters,  it  is 
probably  not  likely  that  over  80  per  cent,  of  the  total  supply 
could  be  accounted  for  in  any  event.  If  this  were  the  case  in 
Yonkers,  the  accounted  for  water  in  1904,  say  54  gallons  per  cap- 
ita, would  represent  80  per  cent,  of  08  gallons,  or  28  gallons,  de- 
ducting which  from  94,  the  reported  pumpage  would  leave  26  gal- 
lons per  capita  per  day  to  represent  the  slippage  of  the  pumps,  or, 
about  28^  per  cent.  This  may  seem  a  high  figure  to  the  general 
Water  Works  Superintendent ;  but  recent  tests  in  Philadelphia  of 
the  very  large  well-built,  high  duty  pumping  engines,  showed  a 
slippage  of  from  18  to  56  per  cent,  in  the  individual  engines  and 
an  average  of  25  per  cent,  for  all  the  pumping  stations  in  the  City. 

No  data  for  costs  of  meters  or  meter  maintenance  are  avail- 
able. 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS. 

IN  comparison  with  the  foregoing  data  it  may  be  well,  for  the 
purpose  of  exhibiting  the  rapid  increase  in  rate  of  consumption 
sure  to  follow  where  no  effort  is  made  to  check  wastage,  to  quote 
the  records  of  the  Water  Department  of  Chicago,  Ills.  This  City 
has  been  chosen  for  illustration  because  its  records  run  back  to  the 
first  settlement,  in  1831,  on  the  site  of  the  present  City,  thus  giv- 
ing a  complete  history  of  the  works ;  and  for  the  further  reason 
that  at  the  present  time,  although  a  comparatively  young  City,  the 
total  amount  of  water  supplied  daily,  according  to  the  reported 
pumpage,  is  greater  than  any  other  city  in  the  world,  although  not 
at  as  great  a  rate  per  capita  as  in  at  least  two  other  American 
cities. 

It  is  to  be  understood  that  the  pumpage  reported  is  probably 
much  in  excess  of  the  true  amount  actually  delivered  into  the 
street  mains,  but  no  data  are  available  for  making  the  necessary 
corrections. 

Not  much  can  be  learned  regarding  waste  reduction  from  the 

215 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

Chicago  records.  No  systematic  attempts  have  been  made  to  re- 
duce wastage  further  than  occasional  inspections  and  a  few  ob- 
servations on  day  and  night  flow  in  the  mains  in  certain  parts  of 
the  city.  Chicago  has  increased  in  population  at  such  a  rapid  rate 
that  the  history  of  the  water  works  is  a  record  of  successive  ad- 
ditions to  the  pumping  capacity  of  the  various  plants  furnishing 
the  water.  No  city  in  the  world  can  equal  the  record  Chicago 
has  made  in  this  respect.  All  the  water  consumed  in  the  city  is 
drawn  from  Lake  Michigan  through  tunnels  reaching  out  from  2 
to  4  miles  under  the  lake  (with  the  exception  of  a  very  insignifi- 
cant amount  of  ground  water)  and  pumped  into  the  mains  in  the 
streets,  there  being  no  reservoirs  to  serve  as  compensating  basins 
and  give  a  reserve  supply.  No  city  in  the  world  is,  or  ever  has 
been  supplied  with  so  great  a  quantity  of  water  per  day  as  is  be- 
ing pumped  into  the  distribution  system  in  Chicago  to-day.  The 
average  daily  pumpage  during  1904  was  practically  400,000,000 
gallons,  to  which  figure  the  consumption  has  grown,  from  a  few 
hundred  thousand,  in  about  55  years.  It  can  be  appreciated  that 
the  problems  that  have  been  presented  to  the  managers  of  this 
stupendous  organization  have  been  unique  and  without  precedent. 

An  examination  of  Table  59  opposite,  which  contains  the 
population,  average  daily  consumption  of  water,  average  daily 
consumption  per  capita,  number  of  services  in  use,  number  of 
meters  in  use,  average  daily  consumption  per  service,  and  data 
regarding  the  successive  additions  to  the  pumping  plants  will 
prove  of  interest. 

A  comparison  of  the  per  capita  consumption  with  the  con- 
sumption per  service  shows  that  in  the  early  days  but  a  small  pro- 
portion of  the  population  was  supplied  with  water.  The  per  capita 
consumption  in  1858  was  very  low,  yet  the  consumption  per  serv- 
ice was  fairly  high  and  has  since  then  increased  but  about  50  per 
cent. ;  while  during  the  same  length  of  time  the  per  capita  con- 
sumption has  increased  five  fold.  The  available  data  are  too 
meager  to  analyze  the  significance  of  the  increase  in  consump- 
tion per  service.  During  the  past  ten  years  the  increase  was  at  a 
greater  rate  than  during  the  ten  year  period  immediately  pre- 
ceding; and  this  period,  in  turn,  showed  a  greater  increase  than 
the  one  before.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  meters  installed 
has  also  been  at  a  greater  rate  during  recent  years. 

216 


Appendix  D:     Waste  Reduction  in  American  Citii 


TABLE  NO. 

59. 

Average 

III 

1 

"a 

ii 

Popiala- 

Daily  Con- 

g,  c  3 

i  No.  of 

No.  of 

t 

c  i  X    Increase  in  Pump- 

Year. 

tion. 

siirr.ption, 

si'r 

c   Servi- 

Me- 

I 

1  '■?-  *      ing  Capacity. 

Gallons. 

?5^ 

<6 

ces. 

ters. 

1 

r-' 

1831 

60 

1832 

600 

1833 

350 

.  .  .  T'n  of  Chicago  incorp'ted 

1834 

1,800 
3,265 
4,000 

1835 

1836 

1837 

4  179 

. .  .  City  of  Chicago  incorp't'd 

1838 

4;000 

1839 

4,200 

'.  '.  '. 

1840 

4,470 

. .  .     First  water  pipes  laid. 

1841 

5,500 

1842 

6^590 

1843 

7  580 

1844 

8,'000 

1845 

12  088 

1846 

14,169 

1847 

16,859 

1848 

20!023 

...... 

1849 

23,047 

1850 

28,296 



1851 

24,000 

.......... 

.  .  .  Works  acquired  by  City. 

1852 

38,734 

1853 

60  662 

8,000,000  gallons. 

1854 

65,872 

'591.683 

's.i 

)  '.'.'.'.'.'. 

1855 

80,023 

2,392,945 

29. i 

}       

1856 

86,000 

4,000.000 

47.. 

>   

1857 

93,000 

3,552,052 

38. i 

2 

'   13,000,000 

1858 

84,000 

2,991,413 

35. ( 

5   '  4.666 

450 

1859 

94,000 

3,887,119 

41.1 

2    5.511 

706 

1860 

109.260 

4,703,525 

43. ( 

)    6.350 

740 

1861 

120,000 

4,841,520 

40.; 

J    6.876 

705 

1862 

137,030 

6,074,739 

44.: 

J    7.450 

65 

815 

1863 

150,000 

6,400,298 

42. ( 

5    8,412 

99 

760 

1864 

161,288 

6,913,259 

42. { 

i         9,855 

133 

701 

1865 

178,492 

7,610,459 

42. ( 

5   11,406 

147 

657 

1866 

200,418 

8,681,536 

43.; 

5   13,634 

179 

637 

1867 

225,000 

11,562,273 

51.; 

J   16,498 

253 

640   18,000,000 

1868 

252,054 

14,724,999 

58.^ 

1   20,915 

400 

703 

1869 

279,329 

18,633,278 

66.' 

7       28.308 

530 

658 

1870 

306,605 

21.766,260 

70. < 

)   35,318 

656 

616 

1871 

337.000 

23,464,877 

69. ( 

3   38,110 

341 

616 

1872 

367,396 

27,536,819 

74.  < 

)   42,511 

618 

648   36,000,000   " 

1873 

381,402 

32,117,312 

84.; 

2   47.995 

836 

670 

1874 

395,408 

38,090,952 

96.; 

i       51,563 

1,174 

740 

1875 

401,534 

39,844,556 

99.; 

2   55,293 

1,313 

720 

1876 

407,661 

41,931,481 

102.  J 

=1   57,130 

1,446 

734   30,000,000   " 

1877 

422,731 

52,183,892 

123.  ( 

5   59,369 

1,623 

879 

1878 

436,731 

53,600,789 

122.' 

7       61,384 

1,888 

874 

1879 

464,123 

56,322,441 

121.; 

J   63,510 

2,067 

887 

1880 

491.516 

57,384,376 

116.' 

7       67,949 

2,113 

845 

1881 

526,104 

63,922,700 

121.. 

5   73,627 

2,163 

867 

1882 

560,693 

66,166,969 

118. ( 

)   78,840 

2,310 

838 

1883 

595,339 

73,265,592 

123.  ( 

)   85,496 

2,503 

857 

1884 

629,985 

80,017,990 

127. ( 

)   92,133 

2,685 

869   30.000,000   " 

1885 

666,901 

91,650,190 

137.^ 

I   98,688 

2.897 

930 

1886 

703,817 

97,789,706 

138. ( 

)  106.771 

3,085 

925 

1887 

753,234 

101,937,842 

135.; 

J  115,578 

3,273 

880   24,000,000 

1888 

802,651 

104,315,624 

129.5 

J  125,667 

3.122 

830 

18S9 

1 ,005,660 

110,895,707 

110.; 

2  133,284 

3,287 

832   49,500,000 

1890 

1,208,669 

152,372,288 

126. ( 

)  155,096 

3.924 

980   36,000,000   " 

1891 

1,323,339 

174,114,254 

131. V 

5  182,382 

4.131 

955   66,800,000 

1892 

1,438.010 

194,086,000 

135. ( 

)  203,954 

4,326 

952   37,500,000   " 

1893 

1,502,868 

236,434,176 

157.; 

J  242,208 

4,654 

975     250,000   " 

1894 

1.567.727 

238.521,280 

152. 

L  258,092 

4.878 

923 

1895 

1,592.183 

251,839.816 

158. 

L  272,758 

5.120 

923 

1896 

1,616.635 

254,208.509 

157.; 

i     276.240 

5,106 

921 

1897 

1.734,111 

265.462,539 

153. ( 

)  286,179 

5,396 

927   14,000.000   " 

1898 

1,851,588 

273,055,816 

147.^ 

I     292.386 

5.837 

935   60,000,000 

1899 

1,929,641 

300,614,394 

155.' 

7     299,901 

6.185 

,022   61,500,000   " 

1900 

2,007,695 

322,599,630 

160.  ( 

5  308,945 

6.396 

,044   60,000,000 

1901 

1,786,226 

342,824,449 

191. < 

)  315,954 

6.728 

,087 

1902 

1,844,661 

358.101,710 

194. 

I  324,202 

7.075 

,105 

1903 

1.903.096 

376.015.974 

196.  ( 

)  331.506 

7.298 

,136 

1904 

1.962,251 

398.985,350 

203.; 

i     339.044 

8.102 

,177   25,000,000   " 

Note: — Additional  pumping  engines  under  construction  and  to  be  in  operation  some 
time  between  1905  and  1909;    Capacity,  153,350,000  gallons. 

217 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

From  1891  to  1900  the  receipts  from  the  sale  of  water  through 
meters,  although  only  about  2^/8  per  cent,  of  the  services  were 
metered,  averaged  about  half  as  much  as  the  receipts  from  assess- 
ment rates,  and  furnished  approximately  one-third  the  total  re- 
ceipts of  the  Department. 

The  Reports  of  the  Department  do  not  give  separately  the 
number  of  gallons  metered  and  unmetered,  nor  do  they  state 
whether  the  metered  water  includes  all  the  uses  not  classed  as 
strictly  domestic.  In  fact,  from  the  distribution  of  meters  under 
different  classifications  it  appears  that  in  1902  over  1,200  of  the 
7,000  then  in  use  were  on  the  services  of  apartment  houses  and 
residences.  In  the  absence  of  specific  data  it  is  impossible  to 
frame  any  hypothesis  from  the  circumstance  that  about  2^8  per 
cent,  of  the  services  deliver  the  water  from  which  33  per  cent,  of 
the  revenue  is  derived,  except  that  consumers  supplied  through  the 
remaining  98  per  cent,  of  unmetered  services  are  paying  for  the 
water  at  only  l-25th  the  rate  per  1,000  gallons  paid  by  the  2  per 
cent,  of  metered  customers  if  calculated  on  the  quantity  of  water 
delivered  into  the  mains.  This,  of  course,  is  the  apparent  condi- 
tion :  The  true  condition  is  that  if  wastage  were  reduced  to  the 
least  practicable  amount  the  assessment  rates  would  remain  the 
same,  but  the  quantity  of  v/ater  pumped  would  be  reduced  and 
extensions  of  the  works  would  not  have  to  be  made  at  such 
short  intervals;  every  extension,  of  course,  being  accompanied 
by  an  increase  of  the  City's  debt  and  consequently  by  increased 
taxation. 

The  City  authorities  are,  it  is  needless  to  say,  awake  to  the  ne- 
cessities of  the  case,  although  until  about  1900  no  definite  recom- 
mendations regarding  waste  reduction  appear  to  have  been  seri- 
ously considered.  In  1901-1902  Mr.  John  Ericson,  City  Engineer, 
presented  a  special  report  upon  the  subject  to  the  Commissioner  of 
Public  Works  in  which  he  recommended  metering  all  consumers 
and  testing  the  mains.  These  recommendations  were  approved  by 
the  Commissioner  and  transmitted  to  the  Mayor  and  Councils,  but 
were  not  adopted.  Mr.  Ericson,  in  a  special  report  dated  May, 
1905,  upon  the  Present,  Past  and  Future  Water  Supply  of  Chi- 
cago, addressed  to  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Works,  again 
urged  the  adoption  of  meters  as  a  remedial  measure,  summarizing 
his  conclusion  as  follows : 

218 


Appendix  D:    Waste  Reduction  in  American  Cities. 

"First. — The  phenomenal  growth  of  the  City,  together  with  the  fact  that 
large  territories  with  independent  water  systems  were  annexed  from 
time  to  time,  made  it  impossible  both  from  an  engineering  and  a  finan- 
cial point  of  view  to  develop  an  ideal  system  for  the  metropolis. 

''Second. — The  Water  Works  System,  at  the  present  rate  of  consumption, 
is  sufficient  for  less  than  1,850,000,  while  the  present  population  is 
about  2,000,000. 

"Third. — Improvements  and  additions  now  authorized  and  under  way,  and 
the  cost  of  which  will  be  about  $4,370,000,  will  not  be  fully  completed 
until  the  year  1909.  The  total  nominal  daily  capacity  of  the  system 
will  then  be  at  the  rate  of  687,000,000  gallons,  which,  allowing  for 
proper  reserve,  will  be  barely  sufficient  for  a  population  of  about 
2,400,000. 

"Fourth. — Further  additions,  estimated  to  cost  about  $5,080,000,  and  which 
should  be  commenced  in  about  1907,  or  before,  will  bring  the  total 
daily  capacity  to  about  940,000,000  gallons,  which,  allowing  for  proper 
reserve,  will  be  sufficient  for  at  the  very  most  3,000,000  people.  This, 
it  is  estimated,  the  City  will  reach  in  about  the  year  1919.  Still  further 
extensions,  not  referred  to  in  this  Report,  should  therefore  be  com- 
menced not  later  than  1916. 

"Fifth. — There  is  a  probable  leakage  and  waste  of  water  pumped,  of  about 
75  per  cent. 

"Sixth. — The  metering  of  about  40  per  cent,  of  the  taps  in  use  on  the 
System  would  undoubtedly  reduce  this  waste  and  leakage  to  a  great 
extent  and  make  it  possible  to  extend  the  time  of  completion  of  the 
various  additions  to  the  Water  Supply  System  several  years,  and 
would,  besides,  cause  a  great  saving  to  the  City." 


ai« 


PART  II:  GERMAN  CITIES. 

GROUP  I:  Cities  in  Which  Waste  Reduction  Has  Been  Accom- 
plished by  Metering. 

BERLIN. 

BERLIN  has  always  had  what  the  United  States  would  be 
called  a  low  per  capita  consumption.  The  highest  amount 
consumed  per  person  in  any  year,  for  nearly  four  decades,  was 
27.5  gallons  per  day,  in  1860.  At  the  present  time  the  rate  is 
about  18  gallons  per  capita  per  day.  The  lowest  figure  touched 
was  in  1890  when  the  average  use  per  capita  per  day  was  16.1 
gallons.  It  would  seem,  to  one  used  to  the  conditions  in  the 
United  States,  which  are  so  very  different  from  those  in  most  for- 
eign countries,  particularly  in  Germany,  that  the  highest  of  these 
figures  would  not  imply  excessive  wastage,  yet  it  was  so  consid- 
ered in  Berlin  and  active  steps  were  taken  to  cut  it  down.  The 
concession  under  which  the  Water  Company  operated  was  to  ex- 
pire in  1881  and  negotiations  were  in  progress  some  years  earlier 
for  the  prolongation  of  the  term  of  years  named.  The  purchase 
of  the  works  by  the  Municipality,  however,  in  1873,  obviated  this 
necessity. 

While  negotiations  were  in  progress  the  company  was  in  a 
critical  condition.  The  consumption  had  reached  the  limit  for 
which  the  works  were  designed,  and  in  1865  extensions  became 
necessary.  The  waste  of  water  was  excessive:  nor  could  it  be 
prevented  or  even  checked  by  house  inspections.  The  company 
had  the  power  to  cut  off  the  supply,  yet  this,  even  in  the  case  of 
gross,  persistent  abuse  had  to  be  exercised  with  great  discretion. 
Under  these  conditions  it  was  imperative  to  adopt  a  policy  that 
would  husband  the  supply  as  much  as  possible  and  yet  not  check 
the  rapid  increase  in  customers  then  taking  place,  and  to  satisfy 
all. 

At  this  time  Mr.  Henry  Gill,  who  had  been  Engineer  and 
Manager  of  the  Works  since  their  opening,  recommended  a  ten- 
tative change  in  the  method  of  charge  for  water,  with  a  view  to 

220 


Appendix    D:     Waste    Reduction    in    German    Cities. 

its  eventual  sale  exclusively  by  measure.    This  was  approved  and 
the  necessary  capital  furnished. 

Under  the  concession  the  charges  for  water  prescribed  a  con- 
stant supply  delivered  under  a  pressure  sufficient  to  reach  the 
highest  floors,  at  a  maximum  height  of  Q(j  feet  above  the  street, 
and  allowed  a  charge  of  4  per  cent,  on  the  house  rent  for  water 
for  domestic  purposes,  including  the  supply  for  baths  and  water- 
closets.  Extra  charges  were  permissible  for  trades  and  garden 
uses.  The  water  was  then  drawn  directly  from  the  mains,  there 
being,  as  a  rule,  no  tanks,  even  for  water-closets,  within  the 
houses. 

It  was  determined  that  the  Company  should  own  and  install 
the  meters  and  examine  and  change  them  whenever  desirable. 

The  old  rates  prescribed  that  water  would  only  be  delivered 
by  meter  when  a  fixed  charge  of  about  $20.00  per  quarter  was 
guaranteed  by  contract.  For  this  sum  the  consumer  was  entitled 
to  about  233,600  gallons;  for  each  264  gallons  additional  the 
charge  was  about  1.8  cents,  or  7.1  cents  per  1,000  gallons.  Thi^ 
stipulation  almost  precluded  the  sale  of  water  by  meter  for  domes- 
tic purposes.  The  new  meter  rates  were  adjusted  to  a  figure  by 
which,  with  a  very  liberal  allowance  of  water  per  head  per  quar- 
ter, the  charges  would  be  less  than  1  per  cent,  per  quarter  on  the 
rental.  This  was  made  the  minimum  rate ;  all  water  used  above 
this  quantity  was  charged  for  at  the  tariff  rate.  The  offers  of  a 
supply  on  these  terms  were  readily  accepted  by  a  class  of  con- 
sumers chosen  by  the  Company.  This  little  body  of  meter  serv- 
ices was  closely  watched,  the  owners  being  warned  when  the  fix- 
tures were  found  defective,  and  the  meters  occasionally  changed 
and  tested.  When  it  became  well  established  that  the  meters  were 
reliable  their  introduction  slowly  advanced,  the  minimum  rate 
being  reduced  occasionally  to  correspond  with  the  diminutions  of 
the  quarterly  minimum  quantity  of  water.  From  1870  the  proc- 
ess was  pushed  forward  as  rapidly  as  possible,  the  company  being 
satisfied  with  the  results  and  the  consumers  pleased  with  the  re- 
duction in  the  quarterly  rate. 

In  May,  1878,  the  Municipality,  at  the  recommendation  of 
Mr.  Gill,  resolved  to  discontinue  altogether  the  sale  of  water  on 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 


TABLE  NO,  60, 

FILTERED  WATER,  PUMPED. 


Number  of 

Average 
Daily  Con- 

Number  of 

Percentage  Taken  by 

Plant, 

Year. 

nnn<;iimpr<; 

svimption 

Con- 

tered 
Con- 

V^V^lia Ll^ll^^  o. 

Per  Capita, 

Properties 

Meters 

sumers 

Public 

Gallons. 

Supplied. 

in  Use. 

Through 

Uses. 

Meters. 

sumers, 

and 
Waste. 

1857 

669 

97 

5 

32 

53 

1858 

886 

132 

15 

25 

60 

1859 

.... 

1,134 

138 

17 

24 

59 

1860 

*      65,865 

27.5 

1,466 

166 

27 

27 

46 

1861 

80,463 

25.9 

1,822 

190 

28 

23 

49 

1862 

88,622 

22.7 

2,359 

232 

35 

24 

40 

1863 

147,963 

21.7 

3,274 

312 

28 

21 

51 

1864 

179,247 

21.4 

3,941 

367 

29 

15 

56 

1865 

211,137 

23.2 

4,686 

464 

30 

14 

56 

1866 

229,255 

23.8 

5,062 

616 

31 

14 

56 

1867 

243,829 

23.2 

5,500 

742 

34 

14 

52 

1868 

265,010 

26.1 

5,914 

896 

36 

12 

52 

1869 

342,696 

20.9 

6,283 

1,038 

39 

11 

50 

1870 

423,915 

18.7 

6,598 

1,203 

43 

10 

47 

1871 

450,492 

17.7 

6,915 

2,404 

52 

9 

39 

1872 

484.900 

17.7 

7,524 

3,725 

67 

13 

20 

1873 

522,240 

17.7 

8,114 

5,297 

76 

16 

8 

1874 

492,631 

20.1 

8,666 

6,277 

82 

15 

3 

1875 

502,329 

20.9 

9,079 

6,919 

81 

10 

9 

1876 

555,782 

20.3 

9,649 

7,502 

.    78 

9 

13 

1877 

712,224 

20.3 

12,365 

9,705 

75 

9 

16 

1878 

768,096 

17.7 

14,001 

13,885 

79 

9 

12 

1879-80 

842,803 

16.6 

15,616 

15,544 

78 

9 

13 

1880-81 

883,555 

16.6 

15,750 

16,350 

82 

10 

8 

1881-82 

954,770 

16.9 

16,576 

16,789 

82 

10 

8 

1882-83 

981,158 

16.9 

17,034 

17,255 

82 

9 

9 

1883-84 

1,065,705 

16.9 

17,654 

17,679 

83 

10 

7 

1884-85 

1,095,858 

17.2 

18,216 

18,178 

82 

10 

8 

1885-86 

1,126,012 

16.9 

18,659 

18,678 

85 

10 

5 

1886-87 

1,221,162 

17.2 

19,193 

19,775 

84 

10 

6 

1887-88 

1,316,312 

17.2 

19,775 

19,803 

84 

9 

7 

1888-89 

1,360,285 

16.9 

20,403 

20,416 

86 

9 

5 

1889-90 

1,388,530 

16.1 

21,324 

21,031 

87 

10 

3 

1890-91 

1,427,148 

18.0 

21,437 

21,625 

88 

9 

3 

1891-92 

1,606,424 

16.4 

22,180 

22,302 

88 

9 

3 

1892-93 

1,645,426 

17.7 

22,638 

22,815 

86 

11 

3 

1893-94 

1,674,221 

18.2 

23,042 

23,229 

86 

11 

3 

-1894-95 

1,703,481 

18.0 

23,428 

24,321 

85 

10 

5 

1895-96 

1,719,183 

18.2 

23,912 

25.428 

82 

9 

9 

222 


Appendix    D:     Waste    Reduction    in    German    Cities. 

the  percentage  of  rental  basis  and  from  the  first  of  October  of 
that  year  to  sell  water  like  gas,  solely  by  measure. 

Table  60  on  page  222  gives  the  number  of  consumers,  consump- 
tion per  capita  per  day,  number  of  properties  supplied  with  water, 
number  of  meters  in  use  and  percentage  of  the  total  supply  taken 
by  consumers  through  meters,  as  well  as  the  percentage  used  for 
public  purposes  and  that  used  at  the  plant,  which  latter  includes 
waste,  and  to  1872,  the  unmetered  consumer's  water. 

An  examination  of  the  per  capita  column  of  this  table  does 
not  show  what,  for  American  conditions,  would  be  considered  a 
very  great  total  reduction,  only  about  8  or  9  gallons  per  capita 
per  day,  yet  this  small  amount  represented  in  Berlin  the  preven- 
tion of  wastage  equal  to  about  one-third  the  domestic  consump- 
tion of  the  City.  The  last  column  in  the  table  shows  that  after 
meters  had  been  placed  on  all  domestic  consumers  the  wastage 
had  been  reduced  to  such  a  degree  that  it  was  possible  to  account 
for  all  water  pumped  within  1  or  2  gallons  per  capita  per  day. 

It  is  doubtful  if  there  are  many  communities  in  which  it  would 
be  profitable  to  attempt  to  reduce  so  small  a  total  amount  of 
wastage.  In  Berlin  the  works  are  owned  by  the  municipality, 
which  also  owns  and  controls  its  sewage  disposal  works;  and  as 
practically  all  the  domestic  water  eventually  becomes  sewage  an 
increase  in  water  supply  per  capita  means  not  only  increased  cost 
for  water  but  increased  taxes  for  purifying  the  sewage,  which  is 
done  on  an  extensive  and  elaborate  plan  at  Berlin. 

Also,  the  cost  of  installing,  maintaining  and  reading  meters, 
per  capita,  is  exceeding  low  for  the  reason  that  Berlin  is  built  up 
very  compactly,  almost  exclusively  on  the  apartment  house  plan, 
each  building  being  in  reality  several  dwellings  on  one  founda- 
tion and  under  one  roof,  and  in  almost  every  case  one  metered 
service  pipe  supplies  all  the  dwellings  in  the  building;  thus,  on 
looking  over  the  number  of  services  and  the  population  in  1896, 
it  will  be  seen  that  each  service  pipe  supplied  water  to  upwards 
of  70  people. 

From  the  records  of  this  city  since  about  1870  the  following 
deductions  seem  reasonable: 

1.  Partial  metering  checked  wastage  but  did  not  permanently 
control  it. 

223 


Waste  of   Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

2.  Complete  metering  has  been  an  effective  and  lasting  prevention 

of  waste. 

3.  There  has  been  a  legitimate  increase  in  the  use  of  water  per 

capita  with  the  increase  of  population. 

4.  It  is  possible  in  this  German  city  to  account  for  all  but  one  or 

two  gallons  per  capita  per  day  of  the  water  pumped. 

5.  It  was  possible  in  this  city,  where  the  majority  of  the  people 

are,  and  always  have  been,  renters,  (the  renters  deriving  no 
direct  benefit  from  the  economical  use  of  water  and  therefore 
having  no  personal  incentive  to  be  saving  in  its  use)  to  edu- 
cate landlords  to  voluntarily  put  meters  on  services  by  mak- 
ing rates  such  that  it  appealed  to  the  owners  as  being  more 
economical  to  buy  their  water  by  measure  than  to  pay  for 
it  a  percentage  of  the  rental  values  of  the  properties.  Many 
years  were  required  to  bring  about  this  result,  which  would 
have  been  impossible  but  for  the  wise  policy  of  the  company, 
under  which,  through  a  nucleus  of  selected  consumers,  it 
became  more  and  more  widely  known  that  metering  w^s 
economical  for  the  consumer,  the  landlord,  and  the  city. 

It  was  also  learned  that  practically  all  the  water  wasted 
ran  from  leaky  faucets,  closet  valves  and  rusted-out  service 
pipes.  That  when  these  were  put  in  decent  order,  wastage, 
that  is,  noticeable  wastage,  ceased.  That  tenants  were  not  wil- 
fully wasteful,  and  that  the  landlords,  therefore,  ran  no  ma- 
terial risk  in  paying  for  water  by  measure  when  the  rents 
included  the  furnishing  of  water  to  the  tenants.  That  prac- 
tically all  the  wasted  water,  or  at  least  a  very  great  percent- 
age of  it,  was  chargeable  directly  to  the  carelessness  of  land- 
lords and  owners  rather  than  to  the  wastefulness  of  tenants. 


224 


TABLE  NO.  61. 
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APPENDIX  E. 
LIST    OF   REFERENCES, 

IT  has  been  impossible,  owing  to  lack  of  time  and  space,  to  make 
specific  references  in  the  text  of  the  foregoing  report  to  each 
authority  quoted.  In  its  preparation  I  have  drawn  freely  upon  such 
published  works,  articles  and  reports  bearing  on  the  subject  as 
seemed  necessary,  and  hereby  tender  full  acknowledgement,  col- 
lectively, since  personal  acknowledgement  in  each  case  is  imprac- 
ticable. 

Albany,  N.  Y.    Ann.  Reports,  Bureau  of  Water.    Wallace  Greenalch,  Supt. 
Albany,  Notes  on  the  Water  Works  of.    Eng.  Record,,  V.  40,  p.  98,  July  1, 

1899. 
Albany,  N.  Y.     Water  Waste  in.     Eng.  Record,  Vol.  28,  p.  234,  Sept.  9, 

1893. 
Andrae.         "Flugelradvvassermesser   mit     Vor     und     Ruckwiirtszahlung." 

Journal  fiir  Gasbel.    40,  p.  68-9. 

Aseury  Park,  N.  J.     Department  of  Water  and  Sewers.     John  L.  Coffin, 
Supt. 

Atlanta,  Ga.     Annual  Reports  of  Water  Board.     Park  Woodward,  Gen. 
Man. 

Atlanta,  Ga.,  The  Results  of  the  Meter  System  in.     Eng.  Rec,  V.  38, 
p.  292,  Sept.  3,  1898. 

Atlantic  City,  N.  J.     Annual  Reports  of  Water  Board.     L.  Van  Gilder, 
Eng,  and  Supt. 

Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  The  Beneficial  Effect  of  Water  Meters  at.     (Edi- 
torial note.)     Eng.  News,  Vol.  36,  p.  440,  Dec.  31,  1896. 

"AuFSTELLUNG  DER  Wassermesser."    Metallarbeiter,  27,  1  p,  2  f. 

Ayres,  H.  W.    "The  Consumption  of  Water  by  Cities  and  Towns."     Proc. 

Am.  Water  Works  Assoc,  V.  8,  p.  46,  (1888). 
Bailey,  G.  I.     "The  Effects  of  Water  Meters  on  Water  Consumption  in 

the  Larger  Cities  of  the  U.  S."     M.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E. ;    Eng.  News,  V. 

45,  p.  279,  April  19,  1901. 

Baker,  C.  W.    "The  Value  of  Water  Meiers."    Eng.  News,  Vol.  15,  p.  246, 
April  17,  1886. 

Baker,  M.  N.     "The  Water  Meter  as  a  Sanitary  Agent."     Eng.  News, 
Vol.  46,  p.  275,  Oct.  10,  1901. 

Beardsley,  J.  C.     "Water  Waste."    Journal  Assoc,  of  Eng.  Soc,  Vol.  23, 

p.  248,  Dec  1899. 
Berrington,  R.  E.  W.     "The  Use  and  Misuse  of  Water."     Plumber  and 

Decorator,  Dec.  1,  1896. 

231 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

Bemis,  E.  W.  "How  Cleveland  is  Checking  Water  Waste."  (Abstract  of 
a  paper  read  by  Mr.  E.  W.  Bemis  before  the  League  of  American  Mu- 
nicipalities), Eng.  News,  V.  50,  p.  347,  ct.  15,  1903. 

Bemis,  E.  W.  "The  Meter  System  in  Cleveland."  Mun.  Journal  and  Engr., 
V.  17,  p.  21,  July,  1904. 

Berlin,  "The  Sale  of  Water  by  Meter  in."   Henry  Gill.   Min.  Proc.  Inst,  of 

C.  E.,  Vol.  107,  p.  203,   (1891-92,  pt.  1.) 
Bodmer.     "Venturi-Wassermesser."     Jour,  of  Franklin  Inst,  147,  p.  108- 

45.     Genie.   Civil,  34,  p.   337.     Bulletin  de  la   Soc.   d'Encouragement, 

Paris,  98,  p.  490.     Metallarbeiter,  V.  25,  2,  p.  616.    Journal  fiir  Gasbe- 

leuchtung,  42,  pp.  565  and  566. 
Boston.    Annual  Reports  of  Metropolitan  Water  Board. 

Boston,  "Checking  of  Waste  Water  in."    Eng.  Rec,  Vol.  9,  p.  573,  May  15, 

1894. 
Boston.     Editorial  on  Violations   of  Regulations   for  Lawn   Sprinkling. 

Eng.  News,  Vol.  50,  p.  12,  July  2,  1903. 

Boston,  "Prevention  of  Water  Waste  in."  Eng.  News,  Vol.  12,  p.  189, 
Oct.  18,  1884. 

Boston,  "The  Deacon  Meter  and  Waste  of  Water  in."  Eng.  News,  Vol.  7, 
p.  424,  Dec.  11,  1880. 

Boston.    "The  Waste  of  Water."    Eng.  News,  Vol.  9,  p.  187,  June  10,  1882. 

Boston  Report. 
Boston.  "Waste  of  Water."    Eng.  News,  Vol.  6,  p.  274,  Aug.  30,  1879. 
Boston  Metropolitan  District.     "The  Measurement,  Consumption,  and 

Waste  of  Water  in."     Eng.  Rec,  V.  49,  p.  363,  March  19,  1904. 
Brackett,  Dexter.     "Consumption  and  Waste  of  Water."     With  Discus- 
sion:    Trans.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,  V.  34,  p.  185,  Sept.,  1895. 
Brackett  Dexter.    "Experiments  Made  with  Deacon  Waste- Water  Meter 

System."    Journal  Assoc.  Eng.  Soc,  Vol.  1,  p.  253,  May,  1882. 
Brackett,  Dexter.    "Report  on  the  Measurement,  Consumption  and  Waste 

of  Water  Supplied  to  the  Metropolitan  Water  District."    Jour.  N.  E. 

Water  Works  Assoc,  V.  18,  p.  107,  June,  1904. 
Brackett,  Dexter,     "Water  Waste,"  by.     M.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E. :     Journal 

N.  E.  Water  Works  Assoc,  V.  1,  No.  2,  p.  10,  Dec,  1886. 
Bradford,  Eng.    "The  Waste  of  Water  in  Town  Supplies."    Railroad  and 

Engineering  Journal,  V.  61,  p.  79,  Feb.,  1887. 
Brauer.    "Ein  Neues  Verfahren  der  Wassermessung,"  Zeitschrift  des  Ver- 

eines  Deutscher  Ing.,  36  p.,  1492. 
"A  British  View  of  Water  Waste,"  Eng.  Rec,  Vol.  41,  p.  150,  Feb.  17,  1900. 
Brockton,  Mass.    Annual  Report  of  Water  Commissioners.    Horace  King- 
man, Supt. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.    "Recommendations  on  the  Water  Supply  Problem  of." 

Eng.  Rec,  V.  35,  p.  353,  March  27,  1897. 
Brooklyn.    The  Meter  Question.     (Editorial  Note.)     Eng.  News,  Vol.  37, 

p.  81,  Feb.  11,  1897. 
Brush,  Chas.  B.    "Some  Facts  in  Relation  to  Friction,  Waste  and  Loss  of 

Head  in  Mains."    Trans.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,  V.  19,  p.  89,  Sept.,  1888. 
Bruxelles.     "Les   Eaux   de,   en   1902."     La  Revue   Technique,   Vol.   24, 

p.  215,  April  10,  1903. 

232 


Appendix  E:    List  of  References. 

BuCERius.      "Umschalventil    fiir     Fliigelrad-Wassermesserverbindungen." 

Jour,  fiir  Gasbel,  46,  p.  247-8. 
BucERius.    "Grosse    des    Wasserverlustes    in    Leitungen."     Journal    fiir 

Gasbel,  46,  p.  210. 
BuCERius.     "Grosse    des  Wasserverlustes  in  Leitungen."     Zeitschrift  des 

Vereines  Deutscher  Ing.,  47,  p.  935. 
Burr,  Hering,  Freeman,    Report  of  the  Commission  on  Additional  Water 

Supply  for  the  City  of  New  York,  1903. 
Burr,  S.  J.     "Water  Supply  and  Water  Meters."     Eng.  News,  Vol.  6,  p. 

370,  Nov.  15,  1879. 
BuscH.     Districts- Wassermesser  von  Deacon.     Gesundheits  Ing.,  4,  p.  131. 
BuscH.    "Ueber  District- Wassermesser."    Annalen  fiir  Gewerbe  und  Bau- 

wesen,  206,  p.  24. 
Case,  L.  N.    "Personal  Experiences  in  Water  Works  Management."    Proc. 

Am.  Water  Works  Assoc,  V.  22,  p.  241,  1902. 
Case,  L.  N.     "Value  of  Meters  in  Restricting  Waste."     Extract  from  ad- 
dress before  the   Senate  Committee  of  the  Michigan  Legislature  to 

oppose  the  passage  of  the  "free  water  bill."    June  26,  1897. 
Case,  L.  N.    "Water  Works  and  Their  Management."    Proc.  Am.  Water 

Works  Assoc,  V.  16,  p.  18,  1896. 
Chicago,  III.    Annual  Reports,  Bureau  of  Water.    H.  O.  Nourse,  Supt. 
Chicago.    "Waste  of  Water  in."    Eng.  News,  Vol.  6,  p.  178,  June  7,  1879. 
Chicago.    Report  on  Water  Waste  and  the  Metering  of  the  Water  Supply 

of,  by  John  Ericson,  M.  Am.  Soc  C.  E.    Eng.  News,  V.  49,  p.  41,  Jan. 

8,  1903. 
Chicago.     Water  Meter  System  for.     Editorial  notes,  Eng.  News,  V.  47, 

p.  101,  Feb.  6,  1902. 
Chicago.     Water  Waste  at.     Editorial  Notes,  Eng.  News,  V.  49,  p.  488, 

June  4,  1903. 

Chicago.  "Water  Waste  Investigations  by  Means  of  Pitometers  at."  Eng. 
News,  V.  52,  p.  538,  Dec.  15,  1904. 

Chipman,  Willis.     Report  on  Water  Supply  for  London,  Ontario. 

Church,  B.  S.  Cause  and  Effect  of  Waste;  Means  of  Prevention:  In 
"Notes  and  Suggestions  on  the  Croton  Water  Works  and  Supply  for 
the  Future,"  in  Trans.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,  V.  5,  p.  Ill,  Feb.,  1876. 

Cincinnati,  O.  "The  Wastage  of  Water."  Eng.  News,  Vol.  10,  p.  427, 
Sept.  8,  1883. 

Cities,  American.  "Capacity  of  Water  Work  Systems  in."  Mun.  Eng., 
V.  2,  p.  1,  Jan.,  1897. 

Cities,  American.  "Ownership  and  Capacity  of  Water  Works  in."  Mu- 
nicipal Engineering,  V.  12,  p.  71,  Feb.,  1897. 

Cleveland,  O.  Annual  Reports,  Department  of  Public  Service.  E.  W. 
Bemi's,  Supt. 

Cleveland.  "The  Meter  System  in."  E.  W.  Bemis.  Mun.  Journal  and 
Engr.,  V.  17,  p.  21,  July,  1904. 

Cleveland.  "The  Meter  System  in  Cleveland,  Ohio."  By  E.  W.  Bemis. 
(Abstract  of  a  paper  read  before  the  Annual  Convention  of  the  Cen- 
tral States  Water  Works  Assoc.)  Eng.  News,  V.  50,  p.  278,  Sept.  24, 
1903. 

Cleveland.    "Water  Waste  in."    Eng.  Rec,  V.  45,  p.  173,  Feb.  22,  1902. 

Coffin,  F.  C.  Discussion  on  "The  Financial  Management  of  Water 
Works."    Journal  N.  E.  Water  Works  Assoc,  V.  11,  p.  89,  Sept.,  1896. 

233 


Waste  of  Water  and  Its  Reduction. 

Coffin,  F.  C.  Letter  referring  to  Eng.  News  Editorial  on  "The  Attitude 
of  Engineers  Toward  Water  Meters."  Eng.  News,  V.  51,  p.  130,  Feb. 
11,  1904. 

Cole,  E.  S.  "The  Water  Waste  Investigation  in  New  York."  Proc  Am. 
Water  Works  Assoc,  V.  24,  p.  478,  1904. 

Cole,  E.  S.    "Water  Waste  and  Its  Detection."    Assoc.  Member,  Am.  Soc. 

C.  E.,  Journal  Western  Soc.  of  Engrs.,  V.  7,  p.  574,  Dec,  1902. 
Cole,  John  A.    Water  Waste  in  Connection  with  New  York  and  Brooklyn. 
Cole,  John  A.     "Stopping  Water  Waste."     The   Commonwealth,   Grand 

Rapids,  Feb.,  1906. 
Coleman,  John.     "The  Water  Meter  System  and  Water  Meters."     Van 

Nostrand's  Engineering  Magazine,  Vol.  27,  p.  224,  Sept.,  1882. 
Collins,  Ernest.    "The  Prevention  and  Detection  of  the  Waste  of  Water." 

Min.  of  Proc  Inst.  C.  E.,  Vol.  117,  p.  147,  1893-94,  Pt.  3. 
Columbus,  Ohio.    "Water  Waste  Studies  at."    Editorial  note,  Eng.  News, 

V.  48,  p.  225,  Sept.  25,  1902. 
Columbus,    O.     A   Universal    Meter    System    at.      Editorial   notes,    Eng. 

News,  V.  47,  p.  61,  68,  Jan.  23,  1902. 
"Concerning  Water  Meters."    Engineering  News,  Vol.  9,  p.  187,  June  10, 

1882. 
"Consumption  of  Water  in  Large  Cities."   Eng.  News,  Editorial,  Vol.  33, 

p.  17,  Jan.  10,  1895. 
"Consumption  of  Water  and  the  Use  of  Meters."    Eng.  News,  Vol.  27, 

p.  61,  Jan.  16,  1892. 
Continental  Meter  Co.     "A  Pure  Water  Supply  and  Its  Preservation." 
Cook,  Byron  I.     "Detecting  a  Waste  of  Water."     Journal  N.  E.  Water 

Works  Assoc,  V.  7,  No.  1,  p.  22,  Sept.,  1892. 
Cooper,  K.  F.    "An  Example  of  the  Legitimate  Use  of  Water  for  Domestic 

Purposes."    Trans.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,  V.  55,  p.  430,  Dec,  1905. 
Crandall,  F.  H.     "Loss  of  Water  From  Pipes."     Journal  N.  E.  Water 

Works  Assoc,  V.  12,  p.  245,  June,  1898. 
Crandall,  W.  S.     "Water  Waste  and  Its  Prevention."     Proc.  Am.  Water 

Works  Assoc,  V.  23,  p.  612,  1903. 
Croes,  J.  J.  R.    "A  Lesson  in  Water  Works  Management."     Eng.  Rec,  V. 

40,  p.  545,  Nov.  11,  1899. 
Croes,  J.  J.  R.    "An  Instance  of  Water  Waste."    Mun.  Eng.,  V.  17,  p.  366, 

Dec,  1899. 
Croes,  J.  J.  R.     "The  Leakage  From  Street  Mains."     Eng.  Rec,  V.  40, 

p.  537,  Nov.  4.  1899.     Article  in  New  York  Times,  on  "Effect  of  In- 
creased Pressure  on  Increased  Consumption." 
Croes,  J.  J.  R.     Report  on  Waste  of  Water  in  New  York,  to  New  York 

Merchants'  Association,  1900. 
Croes,  J.  J.  R.    "The  Use  and  Waste  of  Water."    Extracts  from  Report  of. 

Eng.  Record,  V.  42,  p.  196,  Sept.  1,  1900. 
Crosby,    Fred.      "Some   of   the    Difficulties    and    Advantages    That    Have 

Arisen  by  the  Use  of  Meters  in  a  Southern  City."     Proc.  Am.  Water 

Works  Assoc,  V.  15,  p.  85,  1895. 
Crowell,  Foster.    Report  on  Waste  of  Water  in  New  York,  to  New  York 

Merchants'  Association,  1900. 
Dari.ing,  Edwin.     "Water  Meters."     Proc.  Am.  Water  Works  Assoc,  V. 

4,  p.  66,  1884. 

234 


Appendix  E:    List  of  References. 

Dayton.  Ohio.     Annual  Reports,  Department  of  Water.     M.  Blau,  Chief 

Clerk. 
Deacon,  Geo.  F.    "The  Constant  Supply  and  Waste  of  Water."     (A  paper 
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240 


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241 


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242 


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244 


DIGEST    OF    LAWS    GOVERNING   THE 

USE  OF  WATER  METERS  IN 

NEW  YORK  CITY 


BY 


ALFRED     L.    MARILLEY 


DIGEST    OF    LAWS    GOVERNING    THE 

USE    OF   WATER-METERS 

IN    NEW    YORK 


New  York,  Jan.  31,  1906. 
Mr.  Henry  R.  Towne, 

Chairman,  Committee  on  Water  Supply, 

The  Merchants'  Association  of  New  York. 

Sir: 

As  requested  by  you,  I  have  made  an  examination  of  the  laws 
and  ordinances  regulating  the  use  of  water-meters  in  this  city, 
and  submit  the  following  digest : 

DEVELOPMENT   OF   THE   LAW 

THE  introduction  of  water  meters  into  New  York  City  was 
first  authorized  by  the  Laws  of  1870,  Chapter  383,  Sec.  13, 
which  empowered  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Works  in  his  dis- 
cretion to  cause  water  meters,  of  an  approved  pattern  designated 
by  himself,  to  be  placed  in  all  "stores,  workshops,  hotels,  manufac- 
tories, public  edifices,  at  wharves,  ferry-houses,  stables,  and  in  all 
places  in  which  water  is  furnished  for  business  consumption.'' 
The  cost  of  installation  was  to  be  paid  by  the  consumer,  whose 
water  charges  were  to  be  in  ratable  proportion  to  the  amount  of 
water  consumed,  as  ascertained  by  the  meter.  Subsequent  enact- 
ments have  with  some  modifications  followed  this  original  statute. 

The  foregoing  provision  was  repealed  by  an  Act  reorganizing 
the  city  government,  Laws  of  1873,  Chapter  335,  but  its  sub- 
stance was  incorporated  in  Article  VIIL,  Sec.  73  of  said  Act,  with 
these  changes :  that  the  pattern  and  price  of  the  meter  should  be 
approved  by  the  Mayor,  the  Comptroller  and  the  Chief  Engineer 
of  the  Croton  Aqueduct,  and  private  dwellings  were  expressly 
exempted  from  the  application  of  the  statute. 

The  original  law  as  thus  modified  became  Sec.  352  of  the  New 
York  City  Consolidation  Act,  Laws  of  1882,  Chapter  410,  and 
remained  thus  in  force  without  change,  till  the  enactment  of  the 

247 


Laws   Governing   Water  Meters. 

Greater  New  York  Charter,  which  went  into  effect  January  1st, 

1898. 

The  Charter  substituted,  for  the  Commissioner  of  PubHc 
Works,  the  Commissioner  of  Water  Supply,  made  the  pattern  and 
price  of  the  meter  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Board  of  Public 
Improvements  and  abrogated  the  express  exemption  in  favor  of 
private  dwellings. 

The  Amended  Charter,  which  took  effect  January  1st,  1902, 
changed  the  law  to  the  form  given  below.  Chapter  509,  of  the 
Laws  of  1902,  amended  the  Charter  to  the  effect  that  the  meter 
charge  should  not  be  less  than  the  regular  charge  would  have 
been,  had  there  been  no  meter.  But  this  provision  was  repealed 
by  Chapter  600  of  the  Laws  of  1904,  which  restored  the  law  to 
substantially  the  form  of  the  Amended  Charter. 

PRESENT  LAW 

THE  Greater  New  York  Charter  provides  in  substance  as  fol- 
lows: 

Sec.  469.  The  Commissioner  of  Water  Supply,  Gas  and  Elec- 
tricity shall  have  cognizance  and  control  of  all  structures  and  prop- 
erty connected  with  the  supply  and  distribution  of  water  for  public 
use,  including  all  water  meters. 

Sec.  475.  'The  Commissioner  of  Water  Supply  (sic)  is  author- 
ized, in  his  discretion,  to  cause  water  meters,  the  pattern  and  price  of 
which  shall  be  approved  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  to  be  placed  in  all 
stores,  workshops,  hotels,  manufactories,  office  buildings,  public  edi- 
fices, at  wharves,  ferry-houses,  stables,  and  in  all  places  in  which  water 
is  furnished  for  business  consumption,  and,  if  authorized  thereto  by 
resolution  or  ordinance  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  in  all  apartment 
houses,  tenements,  flat  houses  and  private  dwellings,  so  that  all  water 
so  furnished  therein  or  thereat  may  be  measured  and  known  by  the 
said  department,  and  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  ratable  por- 
tion which  consumers  of  water  should  pay  for  the  water  therein  or 
thereat  received  and  used.  Thereafter,  as  shall  be  determined  by  the 
commissioner  of  water  supply,  the  said  department  shall  make  out  all 
bills  and  charges  for  water  furnished  by  them  to  each  and  every  con- 
sumer as  aforesaid,  to  whose  consumption  a  meter  as  aforesaid  is 
affixed  in  ratable  proportion  to  the  water  consumed,  as  ascertained  by 
the  meter  on  his  or  her  premises  or  places  occupied  or  used  as  afore- 
said. All  expenses  of  meters,  their  connections  and  setting,  water 
rates  and  other  lawful  charges  for  the  supply  of  water  shall  be  a  lien 
upon  the  premises  where  such  water  is  supplied  as  now  provided  by 

248 


Laws   Governing    Water  Meters. 

law.  Nothing  herein  contained  shall  be  construed  so  as  to  remit  or 
prevent  the  due  collection  of  arrearages  or  charges  for  water  consump- 
tion heretofore  incurred,  nor  interfere  with  the  proper  liens  therefor, 
nor  of  charges,  or  rates,  or  liens  hereafter  to  be  incurred  for  water 
consumption  in  any  dwelling-house,  building,  or  place  which  may  not 
contain  one  of  the  meters  aforesaid.  The  moneys  collected  for  ex- 
penses of  meters,  their  connections  and  settings,  shall  be  applied  by 
the  commissioner  of  water  supply  to  the  payment  of  expenses  incurred 
in  procuring,  connecting  and  setting  sa'd  meters."  {Entire  section, 
verbatim.) 

Sec.  473.  No  water  rent  charge  shall  be  made  against  a  building 
in  which  a  water  meter  may  have  been  or  shall  be  placed.  In  all  such 
cases  the  charge  for  water  shall  be  determined  by  the  quantity  of  water 
actually  used  as  shown  by  said  meter. 

Sec.  188.  The  Comptroller  is  authorized  to  issue  special  revenue 
bonds  to  provide  the  means  necessary  to  defray  the  expense  of  supply- 
ing meters  as  authorized  by  Sec.  475  above  given. 

The  Penal  Code  of  the  State  of  New  York  provides  that  any 
person  who  unlawfully  interferes  with  a  water  meter  is  guilty  of 
a  misdemeanor. 

Supplementary  to  the  foregoing  provisions  it  may  be  stated 
that  the  meters  approved  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  in  accord- 
ance with  Sec.  475  above  given,  are  the  Worthington  Water 
Meter,  the  Crown  Water  Meter,  the  Thomson  Water  Meter,  the 
Trident  Water  Meter,  the  Nash  Water  Meter,  the  Standard  Water 
Meter,  the  Hersey  Water  Meter,  the  Worthington  Disc  Water 
Meter,  and  the  Keystone  Water  Meter. 

An  examination  of  the  resolutions  and  ordinances  passed  by 
the  Board  of  Aldermen  since  the  enactment  of  the  amended  Char- 
ter reveals  the  somewhat  surprising  fact  that  the  said  Board  has 
never  availed  itself  of  the  power  conferred  by  Sec.  475  above 
given,  with  respect  to  ''apartment  houses,  tenements,  flat  houses 
and  private  dwellings."  But  it  is  of  interest  to  note  in  this  rela- 
tion that  at  the  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  on  Jan- 
uary 30,  1906,  an  ordinance  was  introduced  and  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Water  Supply,  Gas  and  Electricity,  of  which  the 
following  is  reported  to  be  the  text : 

BE  IT  ORDAINED  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen  of  the  City  of  New  York 
as  follows:  The  Commissioner  of  Water  Supply,  Gas  and  Electricity 
of  the  City  of  New  York,  in  pursuance  of  Section  475  of  the  amended 
Greater  New  York  Charter,  is  authorized  in  his  discretion  to  cause 
water  meters  to  be  placed   in  all  apartment  houses,   tenements,   flat 

249 


Lazvs   Governing   Water  Meters. 

houses  and  private  dwellings,  in  the  said  City  of  New  York,  so  that 
all  water  furnished  thereat  may  be  measured  and  known  by  said  Com- 
missioner, and  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  a  ratable  portion  of  the 
cost  of  supply  and  distribution  which  consumers  of  water  should  pay 
for  the  water  therein  received  and  used. 

If  the  above  proposed  ordinance  be  passed  by  the  Board  of 
Aldermen,  it  will  virtually  subject  every  water  consumption  in 
the  city  to  use  of  meters,  and  this  general  metering  of  the  water 
furnished  in  the  city  will  be  limited  only  by  that  broad  and  elastic 
qualification  of  the  statute,  viz. — the  discretion  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Water  Supply,  Gas  and  Electricity.  This  discretion,  as 
decided  in  the  case  of  People  ex  rel.  The  Standard  Water  Meter 
Co.  vs.  Monroe  (84  App.  Div.  241),  may  be  employed  to  negative 
the  power  vested  in  the  Board  of  Aldermen  to  approve  of  the  pat- 
tern of  meters. 

However,  as  the  law  stands  to-day,  the  meters  above  specifi- 
cally mentioned  may  be  placed  in  all  stores,  workshops,  hotels, 
manufactories,  oifice  buildings,  public  edifices,  at  wharves,  ferry- 
houses,  stables,  and  in  all  places  in  which  water  is  furnished  for 
business  consumption:  it  being  understood  that  this  is  subject  to 
the  same  discretion  aforesaid,  as  judicially  interpreted. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Alfred  L.  Marrilley. 


Since  the  foregoing  report  was  written  the  Stanley  Act,  "To  Provide  for  Obtaining 
Information  as  to  the  Consumption  and  Waste  of  Water  in  the  City  of  New  York," 
has  been  enacted.  It  is  reprinted  in  full  on  page  7,  supra,  as  part  of  the  report 
of  the   Committee  on  Water    Supply. 


1  Story 

2  Stories 

3  Stories 

4  Stories 

5  Stories 

$4.00 

$5.00 

$6.00 

$7.00 

$8.00 

5.00 

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9.00 

6.00 

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8.00 

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7.00 

8.00 

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8.00 

9.00 

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10.00 

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12.00 

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16.00 

APPENDIX  A. 

ORDINANCE  ESTABLISHING  SCALE  OF  WATER 
RENTS  FOR  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK 

{In  Pursuance  of  Section  473  of  the  Greater  New  York  Charter) 

Be  it  Ordained  by  the  Municipal  Assembly  of  the  City  of  New  York,  as  follows: 
That   the   minimum  annual    rents   and   the    special   charges   to   be   collected   by   the 
Department   of  Water    Supply   shall   be   as   follows,   to   wit: 

Front  Width 

16   feet  and  under 

16    to    18    feet 

18    to    20    feet 

20   to   22Y2    feet 

22J^    to    25    feet 

25    to    30    feet 

30    to    ZlVi    feet 

37H    to    50    feet 14.00  15.00  16.00  17.00  18.00 

The    apportionment    of    the    regular    frontage    rates    upon    dwelling-houses    is    on 
the  basis  that   but  one   family   is  to  occupy   the  same,   and    for  each  additional    family 
one  dollar  per  year  shall  be  charged. 
BUILDING    PURPOSES— Ten    cents    per    1,000    brick.       All    masonry    at    the    same 

rate,    500  brick  being  equal   to   one   cubic    yard. 
PLASTERING — Forty    cents   per    100    square    yards,    openings    not    included. 
BATHS — All    baths    three    dollars    per    annum. 
WATER-CLOSETS    and    URINALS,    of    every    description,    two    dollars    per    annum. 

One  water-closet  and  one  bath  in  each  house   supplied    free  of  charge. 

Steam     lighters     and     tugboats,     H.  P per  year  $90 .  00 

Steam   lighters  and   tugboats,   L.  P per  year  45 .  00 

Pile    drivers    and    hoisting    engines per  month  5.00 

Steam    yachts     per  month  5 .  00 

All    others    per  month  5 .  00 

Water  boats  supplying  shipping per  month  25 .  00 

METER  RATES — Water  meters  shall  be  placed,  at  the  discretion  of  the  Commissioner 
of  Water  Supply,  for  all  stores,  workshops,  hotels,  manufactories,  office  build- 
ings, public  edifices,  on  wharves,  ferry-houses,  and  in  all  places  where 
water  is  furnished  for  business  consumption,  except  private  dwellings;  the 
charge  for  water  measured  by  meter  to  be  ten  cents  per  100  cubic  feet 
[750  gallons]. 
All  charges  not  herein  mentioned  or  fixed  are  reserved  for  special  contract  by 
and  with   the  Commissioner  of  Water   Supply,   Gas  and    Electricity. 

(Adopted  by  the  Council,  March  15,  1900.     Signed  by  the  Mayor,  April  10,  1900.) 


251 


City's   Water   Supply:     General   Conditions. 

EXTRA  AND  MISCELLANEOUS  RATES 
Fixed  by  Order  of  Commissioner  of   Water  Supply,   Gas  and 

Electricity 

The    extra    and    miscellaneous    rates   shall    be    as    follows,    to    wit: 
BAKERIES— Three    dollars    per    annum. 
BARBER    SHOPS    shall    be    charged    from    five    dollars    per    annum;    and    additional 

charge  of  five  dollars  per  annum  shall  be  made  for  each  bathtub  therein. 
BATHING   TUBS    in    private    houses,    beyond    one,    shall    be   charged   at   three   dollars 
per   annum   each,    and   five   dollars   per  annum  each   in   public   houses,   boarding- 
houses    and    bathing    establishments.       Combination    stationary    washtubs,    having 
a    movable    division    in    the    centre    and    capable    of    use    for    bathing,    shall    be 
charged  the  same   as  bathing  tubs. 
BUILDING   PURPOSES — For   each    1,000    bricks   or    for    stonework — to   be    measured 
as    brick — ten   cents    per   thousand. 
For   plastering,    forty    cents   per   hundred   yards. 
DINING    SALOONS    shall   be   charged   an   annual    rate   of    from    five   dollars. 
FISH    STANDS    (retail)    shall    be    charged    five    dollars    per   annum    each. 
STALLS — For    each    stall,    one    dollar    per   annum. 

HORSE  TROUGHS— For  each  trough,  and  for  each  half-barrel  or  tub  on  side- 
walk or  street,  twenty  dollars  per  annum,  each  trough  to  be  fitted  with  a 
proper  ball-cock  to  prevent  waste. 
HOTELS  and  BOARDING-HOUSES  shall,  in  addition  to  the  regular  rate  for 
private  families,  be  charged  for  each  lodging  room,  at  the  discretion  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Water  Supply,  Gas  and  Electricity. 
LAUNDRIES    shall    be    charged    from    eight    dollars    per    annum. 

LIQUOR    and    LAGER    BEER    SALOONS    shall    be    charged    an    annual    rate    of    ten 

dollars   each.      An    additional   charge   of    five   dollars    per   annum    shall   be   made 

for   each  tap  or  wash  box. 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  GALLERIES  shall  be  charged  an  annual  rate  of  from  five  dollars. 

SODA,   MINERAL   WATER  and  ROOT  BEER  FOUNTAINS  shall  be  charged  five 

dollars   per   annum   each. 
STEAM    ENGINES,    where    not    metered,    shall    be    charged    by    the    horse-power    as 
follows :       For    each    horse-power    up    to    and    not    exceeding    ten,    the    sum    of 
ten   dollars   per  annum ;    for  each   exceeding  ten,   and    not  over  fifteen,   the  sum 
of    seven    dollars    and    fifty    cents    each,    and    for    each    horse-power   over    fifteen, 
the  sum  of   five  dollars. 
BAPTISTERIES    shall  be  charged   at   the   rate   of  ten   dollars   per   annum. 
FLORISTS    shall    be   charged    at   the    rate    of    five    and    ten    dollars   per   annum. 
MILK    DEPOTS    (for   the   purpose   of   washing   cans)    shall   be   charged   seven   dollars 

and  fifty  cents  per  annum. 
BOTTLING    ESTABLISHMENTS    shall    be    charged    ten    dollars    each    per    annum. 
Permits    for   tugs,   etc.,  to  take  water  are  granted   for   six  months. 
No    extensions    will    be    granted    on    permits    for    tugs    that    have    been    laid    up. 
The    miscellaneous   charges    for    permits    for   use   of    water    by 
STEAMBOATS,    etc.,   are   as   follows: 

Dredges per  month         $10.00 

Boilers  for  coal  diggers,  etc per  month  5 .  00 

Steam  barges per  annum  25 .  00 

Steam  pumps per  annum  25 .  00 

Steam  derricks per  annum  25 .  00 

Oyster  boats per  annum  20 .  OC 

Floating   engines per  annum  20 .  00 

No    unexpired    permits    will    be    transferred    to    other    boats. 
By   order    of 

JOHN    T.    OAKLEY, 
Commissioner    Water    Supply,    Gas    and    Electricity. 
252 


SUMMARY  OF  GENERAL  CONDITIONS 

RELATING   TO   NEW   YORK 

CITY'S  WATER  SUPPLY 


BY 


J.  HAMPDEN  DOUGHERTY 


SUMMARY  OF  GENERAL  CONDITIONS 

RELATING  TO  NEW  YORK  CITY'S 

WATER  SUPPLY 

By 
J.  Hampden  Dougherty, 

Formerly  Commissioner  Water  Supply,  Gas  and  Electricity. 

THE  MAGNITUDE  OF  THE   UNDERTAKING. 

IN  the  world's  history  few  enterprises  will  compare  in  cost  and 
importance  with  New  York  City's  water  supply.  The  so- 
called  Spooner  Act  of  a  few  years  ago,  authorized  an  appropria- 
tion by  Congress  of  $135,000,000  for  the  construction  of  the 
Panama  Canal ;  the  Suez  Canal  cost  $85,000,000.  The  people  of 
New  York  State  recently  voted  to  approve  an  expenditure  of 
$101,000,000  for  the  enlargement  of  the  state  canal  system.  The 
Croton  water  system  cost  the  city  up  to  December  31,  1901,  in 
round  numbers,  $9-1,500,000 ;  the  Brooklyn  water  system  cost,  in 
round  numbers,  up  to  the  same  date,  $25,500,000.  The  city  is 
about  to  place  at  the  disposal  of  its  new  Board  of  Water  Supply 
the  sum  of  $101,000,000  for  procuring  additional  sources,  build- 
ing reservoirs,  dams,  tunnels,  etc.  Upon  completion  of  the  pro- 
jected extension,  the  city's  water  system  will  have  cost  more  than 
$280,000,000.  No  other  city  of  modern  times  has  undertaken 
works  of  this  description  upon  such  a  colossal  scale. 

NECESSITY  FOR   WATER  RECOGNIZED  BY   THE 
STATE  CONSTITUTION. 

VAST  as  IS  the  expenditure,  actual  and  contemplated,  no  well- 
informed  person  questions  the  necessity  for  an  adequate 
outlay.  But  the  work  should  be  carried  on  with  such  regard  to 
economy  and  efficiency  that  the  city  shall  get  its  money's  worth. 
The  city's  inhabitants  could  not  exist  without  adequate  water, 
and  its  enormous  enterprises  would  be  paralyzed  if  the  supply 
should  be  seriously  impaired. 

The  constitution  of  the  state  recognizes  the  essential  impor- 
tance of  abundant  water  to  each  city,  town  or  village  within  the 
state,  and  consequently  when,  thirty  years  ago,  a  limitation  was 

255 


City's   Wafer   Supply:     General   Conditions.  ' 

first  put  upon  the  borrowing  power  of  local  government,  its 
right  to  issue  bonds  for  a  water  supply  was  made  the  sole  excep- 
tion. But  the  original  limitation  was  too  narrow.  It  left  the 
water  debt  of  the  city  or  town  to  be  computed  in  the  total  of  city 
indebtedness,  but  a  recent  amendment  to  the  constitution  elim- 
inates all  indebtedness  for  water  purposes  from  the  computation ; 
and  thus  every  city,  town  or  village  is  left  free  to  supply  itsejf 
with  abundant  water  as  a  prime  necessity  of  existence  and  devel- 
opment without  absolutely  stopping  all  other  local  improvements. 

PRESENT    SOURCES    OF    SUPPLY. 

THE  City  of  New  York,  with  its  five  boroughs,  says  the  emi- 
nent bacteriologist,  George  C.  Whipple,  has  eighty-two  dis- 
tinct sources  of  water  supply.  jNIanhattan  and  the  Bronx  obtain 
water  from  the  Croton,  the  Bronx  and  the  Byram  River ;  Brook- 
lyn, from  numerous  ponds,  streams  and  wells  in  Kings,  Queens 
and  Nassau  counties;  Queens,  from  the  city's  pumping  stations 
in  Long  Island  City,  Flushing,  College  Point  and  Whitestone, 
and  partly  from  the  Citizen's  Water  Supply  Company,  a  private 
corporation ;  and  Richmond,  from  the  city's  small  plant  at  Tot- 
tenville,  Staten  Island,  and  from  two  private  water  companies, 
the  Staten  Island  Water  Supply  Company  and  the  Crystal  Water 
Company. 

Two  aqueducts  bring  the  water  to  Manhattan,  the  old  Croton 
Aqueduct  (not  now  in  use),  with  a  capacity  of  only  80,000,000 
gallons  a  day,  and  the  new  aqueduct  with  a  capacity  of  about 
300,000,000  gallons  per  day.  This  aqueduct  is  about  30  miles 
long. 

SMALLNESS  OF  TFIE  AREA  OF  THE  CITY'S  WATER 

SUPPLY. 

THE  area  is  small  from  which  the  present  city  obtains  its  sup- 
ply. The  drainage  area  of  the  watershed  which  supplies 
the  boroughs  of  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  contains  about  338 
square  miles.  The  catchment  area  of  the  Brooklyn  watershed  is 
140  square  miles.  The  total  area  of  New  York  State  is  47,620 
square  miles,  which  shows  that  one-half  of  the  population  of  the 
state  at  present  draws  its  water  supply  from  a  very  small  frac- 

256 


City's    Water    Supply:     General    Conditions. 

tion — about  one  per  cent. — of  the  state  area.  The  supply  to  Man- 
hattan and  the  Bronx  is  entirely  from  surface  water,  although 
much  of  this  has  to  be  pumped  into  the  distribution  system; 
whereas  Brooklyn's  supply  comes  both  from  surface  and  ground, 
i.e.,  underground  waters.  "Water  that  on  touching  the  earth 
takes  the  vertical  direction  is  commonly  called  'ground  water' ; 
while  that  which  quickly  moves  off  more  or  less  horizontally  is 
called  'surface'  water."  (Sedgwick,  Principles  of  Sanitary  Sci- 
ence and  the  Public  Health,  226).  New  York  City  has  not  in 
terms  been  excluded  from  obtaining  water  in  any  section  of  the 
state  excepting  from  certain  streams  in  Dutchess  and  Westchester 
counties,  and  from  Suffolk  county. 

M  AX  H  ATT  AX'S    OKI  GIX  ALLY    A    GRAVITY    SUPPLY. 

THE  projectors  of  the  Croton  water  system  contemplated  a 
gravity  supply.  High  Bridge  over  the  Harlem  River  was 
constructed  with  an  aqueduct  in  the  Bridge  to  convey  water  by 
gravity  and  pressure  into  the  highest  buildings.  The  city  long 
since  outgrew  this  method  and  pumping  has  become  an  inevitable 
necessity  as  a  supplement  to  the  gravity  system.  About  twenty 
per  cent,  of  the  supplies  to  ^lanhattan  and  the  Bronx  has  to  be 
pumped  for  the  buildings  on  high  ground.  All  of  the  water  used 
in  the  borough  of  Queens  has  to  be  pumped.  All  of  Brooklyn's 
water  is  pumped,  both  the  water  coming  from  surface  supplies 
and  that  oJjtained  from  driven  wells.  A  portion  of  the  Brooklyn 
water  is  pumped  and  repumped  four  times,  first  from  the  driven 
wells  into  the  aqueduct  leading  to  Millburn,  secondly  by  the 
pumps  at  Millburn  into  the  forty-eight  inch  conduit  leading  to 
Ridgewood,  thirdly,  at  Ridgewood,  into  the  reservoir,  and  fourth- 
ly, (a  small  fraction,  about  9,000,000  gallons  per  day)  into  the 
high  service  reservoir  and  tower  at  Mount  Prospect.  Pumping 
naturally  adds  much  to  the  cost  of  the  system. 

IMMINEXT  DAXGER   OF   WATER  SHORTAGE. 

THE  average  maximum  daily  yield  from  the  water-sheds 
which  supply  Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  is  about  two  hun- 
dred and  ninety  million  gallons.  In  dry  seasons  the  yield  is  much 
less,  the  fiow  through  the   Croton,  the  Bronx  and  the  Byram 

257 


City's    Water    Supply:     General    Conditions. 

River, — the  only  sources  of  supply  for  Manhattan  and  the 
Bronx, — frequently  falling  below  one  hundred  million  gallons  a 
day.  The  consumption  in  these  two  boroughs  is  now  three  hun- 
dred million  gallons  per  day.  In  the  absence  of  adequate  storage 
conserving  the  water  for  the  future,  these  boroughs  would  soon 
be  confronted  with  a  water  famine.  The  new  Croton  Dam  has  a 
total  available  storage  capacity  of  about  seventy  thousand  million 
gallons. 

'The  full  safe  permanent  capacity  of  the  above-named  sources, 
with  their  new  reservoirs  completed,  will  be  reached  in  three  years, 
w^hile  with  extreme  care  and  a  moderate  amount  of  waste  restriction 
they  can  prudently  be  made  to  serve  for  five  years."  (Report  John  R. 
Freeman  to  Hon.  B.  S.  Coler,  Comptroller  of  New  York  City,  1900.) 

These  facts  suffice  to  show  how  imminent  is  the  peril  of  a 
water  shortage.  The  work  projected  by  the  new  Board  of  Water 
Supply  cannot,  with  the  utmost  expedition,  result  in  giving  the 
city  any  substantial  amount  of  additional  water  before  1914.  The 
population  of  the  city  is  increasing  at  the  rate  of  thirty-three  per 
cent,  every  ten  years,  and  by  1915  consumption  in  Manhattan  and 
the  Bronx  will  have  reached  four  hundred  million  gallons  daily. 
The  Burr-Hering-Freeman  Commission  estimate  that  the  popu- 
lation of  New  York  City  in  1925  will  be  about  6,320,000,  and  the 
probable  daily  consumption  948,000,000  gallons. 

Brooklyn  consumes  all  the  water  which  it  receives,  and  could 
use  more.  The  possible  yield  of  the  present  water-shed  is  one 
hundred  and  twelve  to  one  hundred  and  forty  million  gallons  per 
day.  The  Brooklyn  department  has  developed  a  maximum  of 
only  about  one  hundred  million  gallons,  leaving  probably  forty 
million  gallons  still  available.  Brooklyn's  growth  is  rapid  and  it 
is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  her  supply  should  be  promptly 
increased.  Augmentation  might  come  in  the  first  instance  from 
developing  to  the  full  the  potentialities  of  her  present  water-sheds 
and  in  the  second  place  by  making  the  ground  waters  or  the 
streams  of  Suffolk  county  accessible.  The  Burr-Hering-Free- 
man Commission  have  recommended  that  further  increase  for 
Brooklyn  should  come  from  extension  of  the  ground  water 
sources,  because  this  could  be  accomplished  in  less  time  and  at 
less  cost  than  the  collection,  storage  and  filtration  of  surface 
waters  not  yet  utilized. 

268 


City's    Water    Supply:     General    Conditions. 
RESERVOIRS. 

RESERVOIRS  are  a  necessary  auxiliary  to  the  city's  supply. 
Within  a  few  years  there  has  been  a  change  in  engineering 
opinion  regarding  the  wisdom  of  constructing  storage  reservoirs 
to  hold  more  than  a  definite  proportion  of  the  stream  flow,  for 
bacteria  seem  to  flourish  when  surface  water,  at  rest  in  the  reser- 
voirs, is  exposed  to  the  air  and  sunlight.  Distributing  reservoirs 
are,  however,  a  necessity.  They  conserve  the  supply  within  or 
near  the  city's  borders  and  prevent  its  interruption  in  case  of  leaks 
or  breakdowns  in  aqueducts  or  mains  connecting  the  distribution 
system  with  the  sources  of  supply. 


DISTRIBUTIOX. 

ANOTHER  phase  of  the  water  problem  is  the  distribution  of 
the  water  through  the  city.  This  has  always  been  eflfected 
through  mains  and  pipes  buried  in  the  ground.  Nothing  more 
senseless  was  ever  done  by  a  great  community  than  to  conceal  its 
mains  and  pipes  in  this  manner.  In  1900  there  were  over  1,500 
miles  of  these  in  the  city.  Of  late  years  the  importance  of  placing 
these  pipes  in  galleries,  where  they  would  be  accessible  and  where 
leaks  and  illicit  connections  might  easily  be  discovered,  has  begun 
to  be  appreciated.  The  expense  of  breaking  up  pavements  for 
pipe  repairs,  apart  from  the  injury  thus  caused  to  public  health, 
is  sufficient  to  condemn  the  existing  method. 

"It  is  a  most  regrettable  fact  that  the  present  (rapid  transit) 
subways  have  been  built  without  any  pipe  galleries  and  that  the  vari- 
ous gas  and  water  mains  lie  spread  out  over  the  roof  of  the  subway 
under  conditions  which  will  mean  the  ripping  up  of  the  streets  when- 
ever a  break  occurs  or  a  new  system  of  pipes  has  to  be  laid  down." 
(From  Editorial  in  Scientific  American,  January  20,  1906.) 

The  same  authority  declares  that  the  gas  mains  should  be  so 
placed  in  the  galleries  that  every  part  of  them  would  be  open  to 
daily  inspection ;  when  it  would  be  possible  to  detect  a  leak  long 
before  sufficient  gas  could  accumulate  to  form  explosive  mixtures 
with  the  air. 

259 


City's   Wafer   Supply:     General   Conditions. 

SANITARY    SUPERVISION. 

IN  the  case  of  ground  waters  a  high  degree  of  organic  purity  is 
obtained  by  natural  processes,  as  water  filters  through  the 
soil,  if  there  be  no  impure  contaminating  substances  in  the 
soil  itself.  As  surface  waters  are  much  more  liable  to  pollution, 
than  are  ground  waters,  a  community  dependent  to  any  extent 
upon  a  surface  supply  should  establish  an  adequate  sanitary  patrol 
and  system  to  prevent  pollution.  The  city  charter  vests  the  con- 
trol over  this  important  subject  in  the  Commissioner  of  Water 
Supply.  Sanitary  supervision  includes  measures  requisite  to  pre- 
vent pollution  of  the  water  in  the  various  water-sheds,  abatement 
of  industrial  nuisances,  the  establishment  of  local  systems  of  sew- 
age disposal  and  local  filter  plants,  and  a  sanitary  patrol  of  the 
water-sheds.  The  quality  of  the  water  is  determined  by  physical, 
chemical  and  biological  analyses  made,  as  to  Brooklyn,  at  the 
Mount  Prospect  Laboratory,  and,  for  the  Croton  water-shed,  at 
Katonah.  There  are  danger  spots  in  both  the  Croton  and  the 
Brooklyn  system.  During  the  early  part  of  1902,  the  Commis- 
sioner inaugurated  measures  for  the  establishment  of  a  filtration 
plant  to  overcome  the  danger  of  pollution  of  the  water  of  Hemp- 
stead Stream  from  the  discharge  of  Horse  Brook,  and  the  work 
has  been  carried  on  by  his  successors. 

REVENUES   FROM   WATER. 

THE  city's  water  system  is  a  profitable  source  of  revenue. 
The  water  revenues  go  into  the  city's  general  fund,  and  the 
cost  of  annual  maintenance  of  the  water  system  is  defrayed  by 
appropriations  made  in  the  main  in  the  city's  budget.  Hence  the 
profit  of  the  city's  water  business  is  not  easily  ascertainable.  The 
water  revenues  at  present  approximate  $10,000,000  per  annum. 
The  water  supply  system  is  one  of  the  best  illustrations  of  the 
advantages  of  municipal  ownership,  whatever  may  be  thought  of 
the  wisdom  of  public  ownership  of  other  public  utilities.  Had 
this  vast  business  been  under  private  control,  the  future  growth 
of  the  city  would  have  been  discounted  in  over-capitalization,  the 
cost  of  water  would  probably  have  risen,  and  discrimination, 
whereby  portions  of  the  city  would  have  been  built  up  and  the 
growth  of  others  retarded,  would  easily  have  been  possible.     The 

260 


City's   Water   Supply:     General   Conditions. 

advantages  of  public  ownership  of  water  supply  are  unquestion- 
able. 

The  success  of  the  Ramapo  scheme  which  was  frustrated 
mainly  through  the  efforts  of  this  Association,  would  have  led  to 
a  large  increase  of  the  company's  capital  stock  and  to  the  gradual 
atrophy  of  the  city's  system ;  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  proposed 
contract  with  the  company,  the  city,  having  no  adequate  supply  of 
its  own,  would  have  found  itself  in  the  grip  of  a  monster  water 
combination  far  worse  than  the  gas  and  electric  lighting  trust  or 
the  recently  organized  traction  monopoly,  and  capable  of  inflicting 
greater  harm. 


T 


INCONSISTENCIES  OF  ADMINISTRATION. 

HE    jurisdiction    over    the    city's    water    supply    is    three- 
fold: 


(1)  The  Department  of  Water  Supply,  Gas  and  Electricity 
— gas  and  electricity  having  no  relationship  to  water — has  sole 
cognizance  and  control  over  the  sources  of  supply,  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  water,  its  sanitary  supervision,  the  maintenance  and 
repair  of  the  entire  system,  and  the  collection  of  revenues.  (See 
Revised  Charter  of  Greater  New  York,  Section  4G9). 

(2)  The  new  Board  of  Water  Supply  has  control  over  addi- 
tional sources  of  supply.  The  new  Board  and  the  Department  of 
Water  Supply,  Gas  and  Electricity  appear  to  have  concurrent  jur- 
isdiction over  certain  matters,  but  the  advantage  lies  v/ith  the  new 
Board,  which  can  obtain  the  requisite  appropriations  from  the 
Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment,  whereas  the  Water  De- 
partment cannot  spend  more  than  $2,000,000  in  all  without  the 
consent  of  both  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment  and  the 
Board  of  Aldermen. 

(3)  The  Croton  Aqueduct  Commission  organized  under  an 
act  of  the  legislature  passed  in  1883,  has  jurisdiction  over  the 
extension  of  works  in  the  Croton  watershed  and  has  charge  of 
the  building  of  new  aqueducts  and  dams  in  that  shed.  This  last 
is  a  bi-partisan  commission  whose  work  has  languished  for 
years. 

261 


City's    Water    Supply:     General    Conditio 


ns. 


This  illogical  system  multiplies  expense  not  only  without  bene- 
fit, but  at  positive  detriment  to  the  city.  It  shows  the  following 
disbursements  for  the  salaries  of  commissioners,  clerks  and  en- 
gineers alone^  irrespective  of  numerous  other  duplicated  ex- 
penses, the  aggregate  of  which  constitutes  a  heavy  burden  upon 
tax-payers. 

Department  of  Water  Supply $64,450 

Aqueduct  Commissioners  60,400 

Board  of  Water  Supply 97,650 

Total $222,500 

ABOLISH    THE    CROTON    AQUEDUCT    COMMISSION. 

THE  Department  of  Water  Supply  could  not  be  abolished,  as 
it  has  the  distinct  important  function  of  patrolling  the  pres- 
ent sources,  keeping  the  reservoirs  in  repair,  caring  for  aqueducts, 
dams,  etc.,  maintaining  the  entire  distribution  system  and  col- 
lecting revenues.  The  new  Board  of  Water  Supply  is  clothed 
with  most  important  functions.  But  the  Aqueduct  Commission 
is  a  useless  and  uneconomical  contrivance  and,  judged  by  results, 
is  incompetent.  It  should  be  abolished,  and  its  duties  should  be 
transferred  to  the  new  Board.  Under  a  logical  system  charge 
of  all  new  or  constructive  work,  even  within  the  present  water- 
shed, might  well  be  reposed  in  the  new  commission. 

THE  AQUEDUCT  COMMISSION'S  NEGLECT  AT 
JEROME  PARK  RESERVOIR. 

THE  reservoir  was  designed  as  a  vital  addition  to  the  city's 
distributing  system.  Its  capacity  is  2,000,000,000  to 
3,000,000,000  gallons,  or  seven  to  ten  days'  supply  at  the  present 
rate  of  consumption.  The  new  Croton  Aqueduct,  the  only  aque- 
duct in  use  and  with  any  degree  of  available  capacity,  takes  a 
dip  underground  about  a  mile  north  of  Jerome  Park  Reservoir, 
runs  one  hundred  feet  beneath  the  surface  to  the  Harlem  River, 
near  High  Bridge,  and  there  siphons  under  the  river.  The  lia- 
bility to  clogging  in  the  siphon  is  recognized  by  all  hydraulic 
engineers.     Should  the  siphon  need  to  be  cleaned  and  the  flow 

262 


City's    Wafer    Supply:     General    Conditions. 

through  the  new  aqueduct  be  stopped  for  that  purpose,  the  city's 
only  reHance  would  be  the  distributing  reservoirs  in  Central 
Park,  which  do  not  contain  three  days'  supply.  The  situation 
which  would  arise  if  a  serious  break  should  occur  in  the  long 
aqueduct  is  appalling  to  contemplate.  Yet  by  trifling  with  the 
work  at  Jerome  Park  Reservoir,  we  have  been  tempting  Provi- 
dence for  several  years.  The  city  under  special  act  of  the  legis- 
lature agreed  to  pay  the  contractor  $500,000  more  than  the  con- 
tract price  upon  the  basis  of  an  eight-hour  day,  to  finish  the 
work  by  September  1,  1904  (full  performance  of  which  was  due 
under  the  original  contract  on  November  1,  1902)  ;  but  the  work 
is  not  yet  done — in  fact,  only  the  westerly  of  the  two  reservoirs 
is  completed,  and  that  but  recently. 


REDUCTION  IN   WASTE   OF   WATER. 

WHILE  it  would  be  the  extreme  of  folly  for  the  city  to 
rely  upon  the  stoppage  of  waste  as  the  sole  means  of 
securing  an  abundant  supply,  it  is  prodigal  not  to  take  steps 
to  check  preventable  waste.  Expert  authorities  differ  as  regard- 
ing the  amount  of  such  waste.  From  data  as  to  waste  in  other 
cities,  J.  R.  Freeman  computes  the  needless  waste  in  New  York 
City  at  50  to  75  gallons  per  day  for  each  inhabitant.  He  dis- 
tributes the  waste  as  follows : 

Leaks  in  mains 10  to  15  gals,  per  cap.  daily 

"       *'    service  pipes 10  to  15         "  " 

"    defective  plumbing,  15  to  25 

Careless  and  wilful 1-4  to  17 

In  the  foregoing  pages,  Mr.  Fuertes  makes  a  more  compre- 
hensive examination  of  this  subject  than  has  hitherto  been  made, 
and  presents  data  which  enable  intelligent  estimates  to  be  made 
of  the  financial  saving  which  may  be  effected  by  waste  prevention. 

If  more  water  can  be  obtained  for  consumption  by  reducing 
waste,  as  well  as  by  enlarging  supply,  it  is  economical  and  wise 
to  cut  waste  down  to  the  lowest  terms.  Not  only  should  the  city's 
mains  be  made  water-tight,  but  waste  by  consumers  should  be 
checked,  and  this  end  can  be  effected  only  by 

263 


City's   Water   Supply:     General   Conditions. 

UNIVERSAL  METERING. 

CHIEF  ENGINEER  DE  VARONA,  some  few  years  ago, 
estimated  that  by  metering  the  2,500  taps  then  suppUed 
from  the  Mount  Prospect  Tower  and  the  6,000  taps  supplied 
from  the  Mount  Prospect  Reservoir,  both  classed  as  "High 
Service,"  delivering  in  all  about  12,000,000  gallons,  a  decrease  of 
2,500,000  gallons  a  day  in  Brooklyn's  consumption  might  be 
effected.  This  would  be  equivalent  to  adding  2,500,000  gallons  to 
the  supply  at  the  small  cost  of  installation  and  inspection  of  8,500 
meters.  The  high  service  supply  in  Manhattan  amounts  to  50,- 
000,000  gallons  a  day;  if  this  were  metered,  a  correspondingly 
larger  saving  might  be  expected. 

Water,  far  from  being  free,  is  costly.  It  should  never  be 
wasted.  All  engineering  experts  agree  that  metering  is  the  solu- 
tion of  waste  on  the  part  of  consumers. 

The  city  charter  permits  the  Commissioner  of  Water  Supply 
to  install  meters  only  in  certain  restricted  classes  of  buildings, 
viz.,  ''stores,  workshops,  hotels,  manufactories,  office  buildings, 
public  edifices,  at  wharves,  ferry  houses,  stables,  and  in  all  places 
in  which  water  is  furnished  for  business  consumption"  (section 
475).  With  the  approval  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  he  may 
meter  also  apartment  houses,  tenement  houses,  flats,  or  private 
dwellings.  In  the  Spring  of  1902,  the  Commissioner  sought  larger 
authority  upon  this  subject  from  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and 
was  backed  by  hydraulic  engineers  and  a  part  of  the  city  press, 
but  the  Board  refused  him  the  authority  he  asked.  Similar  au- 
thority is  now  asked  for  the  present  Commissioner.  The  charter 
should  be  amended  so  as  to  authorize  the  metering  of  all  classes 
of  buildings,  and  the  expense  of  meter  installation  should  be 
borne  by  the  City.  The  present  charter  puts  that  burden  upon  the 
owner  or  consumer — a  fact  that  accounts  for  much  of  the  popular 
objection  to  meters.  There  is  no  valid  reason  for  requiring  the 
Commissioner  to  seek  authority  from  the  Board  of  Aldermen. 

Metering  has  become  almost  universal  in  several  American 
cities,  where  the  cost  of  the  meter  is  borne  by  the  city,  and  the 
prejudice  against  meters  has  well-nigh  disappeared  in  these 
municipalities.  A  meter  on  every  service  pipe  will  be  the  best 
remedy  for  leaky  plumbing  or  careless  or  wilful  waste.     In  the 

264 


City's    Water   Supply:     General    Conditions. 

long  run  metering  will  prove  economical  to  the  consumer  as  well 
as  the  city. 

The  Commissioner  in  his  report  of  June  30,  1902,  to  Mayor 
Low,  after  referring  to  his  futile  efforts  to  secure  from  the  Board 
of  Aldermen  an  enlargement  of  his  powers  to  install  meters,  truly 
said: 

"The  experience  of  other  cities  where  meters  have  come  into 
general  use  shows  that  the  popular  fallacies  regarding  them  quickl}'' 
disappear.  The  primary  and  important  purpose  of  a  meter  is  the 
repression  of  waste  or  its  reduction  to  the  lowest  terms.  *  *  * 
Were  the  Charter  to  be  so  amended  as  to  place  the  cost  of  the  installa- 
tion of  the  meters  entirely  upon  the  city,  instead  of  upon  the  consumer, 
a  large  part  of  the  popular  objection  to  meters  would  soon  disappear." 

The  charter  should  be  further  amended  so  as  to  bring  all 
classes  of  buildings  under  the  meter  system,  and  all  requisite 
scientific  steps  should  be  taken  to  detect  waste  in  the  city's  mains. 

Waste  must  be  lessened  by  all  available  means  if  the  city  is 
ever  to  find  sufficient  watCx'  without  converting  the  State  into 
a  desert. 

The  Water  Department  has  estimated  that  by  1909  the  whole 
city  will  be  using  at  present  rates  640,000,000  gallons  a  day;  by 
1915,  940,000,000  gallons  daily.  Economy  in  the  use  of  water, 
and  waste  prevention,  are  vital  to  the  development  both  of  the  city 
and  the  State.  If  the  legislature  once  understand  the  import  of 
these  vast  figures,  it  will  clothe  the  Commissioner  with  plenary 
power  to  install  meters  everywhere.  The  growth  of  the  city  can 
not  be  checked  nor  its  water  requirements  remain  unheeded. 
But  the  legislature  can  and  should  insist  that  the  city  use  all 
reasonable  means  to  stop  criminal  and  preventable  waste. 

SEVERAL  MODES  FOR  THE  QUICK  RELIEF  OF  THE 
CITY'S  IMMEDIATE  NECESSITIES. 

(1)  Amend  the  charter  so  as  to  enable  Commissioner  of 
Water  Supply  to  install  meters  in  every  kind  of  building  and  at 
the  public  expense.     This  work  is  of  primary  importance. 

(2)  Repeal  the  law  which  prohibits  Manhattan  and  the 
Bronx  from  using  the  waters  of  Fishkill  and  Wappinger  Creeks, 

265 


City's    Water    Supply:     General    Conditions. 

in  Westchester  and  Dutchess  Counties.  The  aqueduct  which  the 
new  Board  of  Water  Supply  has  planned  and  which  it  is  to  con- 
struct to  tap  the  waters  of  the  Catskill  region  passes  right  by 
these  Westchester  and  Dutchess  streams,  yet  the  city  is  not  al- 
lowed to  take  any  of  their  flow,  although  it  has  offered  to  pay 
damages  for  any  injury  clearly  resulting  from  their  diversion 
to  the  city's  use,  and  would  doubtless  be  willing  to  construct 
compensating  reservoirs  to  make  good  to  the  affected  localities 
as  much  water  as  it  diverts. 

(3)  Repeal  the  Burr  law  which  keeps  Brooklyn  out  of  Suf- 
folk County,  or,  if  repeal  is  not  possible,  let  Brooklyn  take  the 
ground  waters  of  Suff'olk  County  which  the  law  does  not  prohibit 
it  from  using,  and,  by  suitable  proceedings,  test  the  constitution- 
ality of  that  law. 

(4)  Let  the  new  Board  of  Water  Supply,  which  has  concur- 
rent jurisdiction  with  the  Water  Department,  assume  charge  of 
the  duty  of  extracting  from  the  present  Brooklyn  water-shed,  the 
additional  25,000,000  to  50,000,000  gallons  daily,  which  all  ex- 
perts say  is  available  within  that  water-shed. 

(5)  Let  the  Water  Department  urge  the  replacement  of 
sound  for  leaky  mains,  and  the  establishment  of  pipe  galleries 
for  the  water. 

(6)  Simultaneously,  efforts  for  new  supply  should  be  prose- 
cuted with  vigor,  honesty  and  economy.  No  costlier  or  more 
important  city  enterprise  will  be  undertaken  by  this  generation. 
Let  the  people  see  to  it  that  the  work  proceeds  with  economy 
and  dispatch.  All  measures  designed  to  prohibit  the  metropolis 
from  obtaining  the  additional  supplies  of  which  she  stands  in 
urgent  need, — such  as  cutting  her  off  from  Catskill  or  other 
waters, — should  be  defeated.  When  the  legislature  created  the 
new  city  Board  of  Water  Supply,  it  created  also  the 

STATE  WATER  COMMISSION, 

before  which  the  conflicting  claims  of  the  city  and  the  State  could 
be  presented  and  which  can  do  justice  between  the  great  munici- 
pality and  the  rural  districts.  The  city  can  afford  to  be  generous 
in  its  treatment  of  other  communities  from  which  it  seeks  water, 

266 


City's    Water    Supply:     General    Conditions. 

and  the  State  Commission  has  the  authority  to  prescribe  reason- 
able terms. 

Unless  the  interests  of  the  metropolis  are  to  be  sacrificed  and 
its  commerce  permitted  to  decay,  the  people  of  the  city  must  be 
aroused  to  a  conception  of  the  transcendent  importance  of  an  ade- 
quate water  supply,  and  the  necessity  for  prompt  and  effective 
measures  to  avert  disaster,  pending  the  completion  of  the  pro- 
jected new  works. 


5iG7 


INDEX. 


American   Cities    (see   also   specific   cities) 

Public  purposes,   Water    for,    41. 

Unaccounted-for  water,  45  et  seq. 

Waste   reduction    in,    127    et   seq. 
Ansonia      Hotel,      Under-registration      of 

meters  in,   114. 
Aqueduct    Commission,    Reasons    for    abo- 
lition of,   262. 

Route  of  proposed   new,    76. 
Asbury  Park — 

Leakage  stopped  by  meters,  85. 

Waste   reduction  in,   27,   127    et  seq. 
Atlanta — 

Leakage  stopped  by  meters,   84. 

Typhoid  death  rate  in,  86,  87. 

VVaste  reduction  in,   129    et  seq. 
Atlantic  City — 

Leakage  stopped  by  meters,  85. 

Waste  reduction  in,  27,  133   et  seq. 
Augsburg,   35,    37,    227. 

Bamberg,   33,   36,   46,   225. 

Bayonne,     night     consumption,     tests     of, 

120  et  seq. 
Berlin,   33,   36,    46,    49— 

Comparison  with   Detroit,   30. 
Consumption    per    capita,    88. 
Meters  saved   money  for  users,   100. 
Typhoid    death   rate.    86. 
Waste   reduction  in,  220  et  seq. 
Bernberg,   34,    35,   38,    227. 
Boston — 

Results  of  inspection,  83. 
Waste   reduction  In.  23   et  seq.,  45. 
Bremen,   34,    35,    37,    227. 
Breslau,    33,    39,    47,    229. 

Typhoid   death   rate   in,   86. 
Brockton,    45. 
Brooklyn — 

Future   provision    for,    77,    80. 
Typhoid   death    rate    in,    87. 
Burr-Hering-Freeman   Commission — 
Report,    103. 

Estimate   of   consumption    in    1925,    258. 
Recommendations,    76. 

Catskill    Mts.,   new   supply   from,    must   be 

hastened,    75,    76. 
Charlottenburg,    33,    39,    229. 
Chicago — 

Consumption    per   capita,    discussion    of, 
123   et  seq. 

Typhoid    death    rate,    87. 

Waste   reduction   in,    215    et   seq. 
Chief    Engineer    I.    M.    De    Varona,    103, 

118,    119. 

Hill,  N.  S.,  54,  82,  103,  113,  119. 
Cleveland,  waste  reduction  in,  25,  45,  137. 
Colmar,   33,   39,    229. 
Commissioner   of   Water   Supply,   Gas  and 

Electricity,   81. 
Committee  on  Water  Supply,  Report  of,  3. 
Consumption  of  water   (see  "Water,   (Ton- 
sumption    of). 
Cross  River  Reservoir,  70,  74,  75,   77. 
Croton    River — 

Flow  of,  3,  14,   15,  65  et  seq.,   66,  Dia- 
gram   1. 

Average,  likely  soon  to  be  below,   71. 

269 


Drafts   heavily   in  excess   of,   73. 
Reservoirs,   limitations   upon,   68. 
Storage,   limit  of,   68,    69  et  seq. 
Croton   Water    Shed — 
Capacity    of,    14,    65. 
Data,  sources  of,  103. 
Maximum    quantity    of    water    derivable 

from,   75. 
Reservoirs,     impracticable     increase     in 

size    required    to    obtain    more    water, 

75. 
Safe   draft   upon,    70. 
Storage   available,   14. 
Time   limit    of   available   storage,   3. 

Danzig,    34,    35,    38,    227. 

Darmstadt,   33,   34,    39,   47,   229. 

Deacon    Meter    System,    23    et   seq. 

Dessau,    35,    37,    227. 

Detroit — 

Comparison  with   Berlin,   30. 
Inspection,    leakage   stopped  by,    83,   85. 
Waste    reduction    in,    23,    146    et   seq. 

De  Varona,  Chief  Engineer.  I.  M.,  103, 
103,    118,    119. 

Domestic  uses  of  water  (see  "Water,  Con- 
sumption   of"). 

Dougherty,  J.  Hampden,  "Summary  of 
General    Conditions,"    etc.,    251    et    seq. 

Dresden,    35,    38,    229. 

Edinburgh,   typhoid   death   rate  in,   87. 
Eisenach,    33,    34,    36,    47,    225. 
Ellison,  W.   B.,  Com'r,  103. 
Englewood,    45. 
Erfurt,    33,   39,    229. 
Esopus    Creek,    76. 
Evaporation,    67. 

Fall   River- 
Domestic   consumption,    54. 
Typhoid    death   rate,    86,   87. 
Waste    reduction    in,    27,    28,    45,    154 
et    seq. 

Fines   as   penalty   for   leaks,   118. 

Fire-protection  systems.  Illicit  takings  of 
water  through,   115. 

Fishkill    Creek,    76,    77. 

Frankfort-on-Main,     84,     35,     38. 

Frankfort-on-Oder,    227. 

Freeman,   John   R.,   103,  258,  263. 

Fuertes,  James  H.,  "Waste  of  Water  in 
New  York  and  Its  Reduction  by  Meters 
and   Inspection,"    13    et   seq. 

German  Cities    (see  also  specific  cities). 

Per     capita     consumption,     reasons     for 
low,   30. 

Public    purposes,    water    for,    41. 

Unaccounted    for   water,    46    et   seq. 

Waste    reduction    in,    29    et    seq.,    220 
et   seq. 
Giessen,   33,   39,   229. 
Glasgow,    typhoid    death   rate,    87. 
Gotha,    33,    39,    40,    47,    229. 
Griez,   33,    39,   229. 

Hackensack,    45, 
Halle,   35,   227. 
Hamburg,  35,  36,  87,  225. 


Index. 


Hannover,  33,  36,  47,  225. 
Hartford,   27,   45. 

Meters,  number  placed  in  one  year,  63. 

Waste   reduction   in,    163    et   seq. 
Harrisburg,   27,  28,  45. 

Waste   reduction   in,   158   et   seq. 
Heidelberg,    33,    39,    229. 
Hill,   N.   S.,  Chief   Engineer. 

Acknowledgments   to,    103. 

Cost  of  inspection  tests,   82. 

Tests  of  water  consumption,  54  et  seq., 
case  of  Ansonia  Hotel,  113,  of  street 
leakage,    119. 
Hudson  River  as  source  of  supply,   76. 

Illicit   takings    of   water,    20,    113    et   seq., 

118. 
Inspection — 

Boston,    results    of   in,    23,    S3. 

Control    incomplete,    15,    18. 

Comprehensive    system    required,    16. 

Cost    of,    81,    82    et    seq. 

Detroit,    results    in,    83,    85. 

England,    22. 

Experience    unsatisfactory,    22. 

Manchester,    plumbing,    21. 

Newark,   results    in,    83,    85. 

New    York,    systematic    to    be    adopted, 
81,    118. 

Possible    reduction    of    consumption    as 
result    of,    83,    Diagram    1. 

Sporadic    and    temporary    effect    of    in 
America,    22. 

System  must  be  continued,   18,   20. 

Temporary   means    for   controlling   leak- 
age and  wastage,  81. 

Wasteful  consumers,  location  of,  by,  19. 

Jansens  Kill,   76. 

Jerome   Park,   Reservoir,  neglect  of  Aque- 
duct Commission,   202. 

Karlsruhe,   35,   37,   227. 
Kiel,    34,    35,   37,   227. 
Koenigsberg,   35,   37,   227. 

Lawrence — 

Domestic   consumption,   54. 
Typhoid   death    rate,    86,    87. 
Waste  reduction  in,  27,  46,   167  et  seq. 
Leakage  (see  also  "Leakage  and  Wastage" 
and   "Wastage"). 

Can  be   stopped  ancf   controlled,   18. 
Extent  of,   20,   57. 
Fines   for  permitting,   118. 
Principal    cause    of    waste,    17. 
Leakage    from    Street    Mains — 

Discussion     of     losses     from,     60,     117 

et  seq. 
Futility     of    considering     losses     from, 

60. 
Tests    for   difficult,    117. 
Leakag'-    and    Wastage — 

Asb  Park,    stopped    by    meters,    85. 

Atl;        ,    stopped    by   meters,    84. 

Atl;      .c    City,    stopped    by    meters,    85. 

De       t,    stopped   by   inspection,   85. 

Di'        sion   of,    60    et    seq. 

N.   ,     k,    stopped    by   inspection,    85. 

1^  1        /ork — 

^  jtimate  of,  Manhattan  and  Bronx, 

61    et   seq. 
Extent    of    controllable    in,    60. 
lethods    of    controlling    in,    81    et 
seq. 


Stoppage     of,      essential     to     avoid 

shortage    of    water,    75. 
Extent  of  saving  by,  74,  Diagram  1. 
Owners,    stoppage    of,    financial    bene- 
fit   to,    100    et   seq. 
Richmond,    stopped   by   meters,    84. 
Leipzig,    35,    36,    225. 
London,   typhoid   death   rate,    87. 
Lowell — - 

Typhoid  death  rate,   86. 
Waste  reduction  in,  27,  171   et  seq. 
Liibeck,  35,    37,  227. 
Loss  of  Water   (see  Water,  Loss  of). 

Madison — 

Public  uses   of  water,    59. 
Waste  reduction  in,  27,  28,  175  et  seq. 
Magdeburg,    33,    34,    39,    40,    47,    229. 
Mainz,    33,    39,    47,    229. 
Manchester,    supervision    of   plumbing    in, 

21. 
Mannheim,   33     34,   39,   48,   229. 
Marilley,    A.    L.,    digest    of    laws    govern- 
ing  use   of   water   meters,    247    et   seq. 
Measurements    of    water,    causes    of    error 

in,   107  et  seq. 
Metered    water,    discussion    of    waste    of, 

113    et   seq. 
Meter    measurements,    quantity    of    water 

sold   by,    Man.    and    Bronx,    52. 
!Meter   rates — 

New    York,    251. 
Syracuse,  205. 
Meter  revenues,  Manhattan  and  Bronx,  50. 
Metering — 

Financial   benefit    from,    5,    16,    18,    80. 
Immediate    action    imperative,    81. 
Laws   relating  to,   8,   247. 
Objections  to,   84.   87,   88,  90. 
Owners    financially    benefited     by,     18, 

100. 
Partial,    not   effective,    25. 
Prejudice   against   not    justified,    6,    18. 
Reasons    for,    264. 

Saving  which  may  be  effected  by,  74. 
Typhoid  fever,  relation  to,  86  et  seq. 
Use  of  water  not  restricted  by,  84. 
Waste  kept  permanently  under  con- 
trol by,  19. 
Meters — 

Atlanta,    cost    of    operation    in,    130. 

Berlin,    experience    of,    41. 

Business     proposition,     considered     as, 

91    et   seq. 
Cleveland,    cost   of   in,    142    et   seq. 
Financial    estimates,    costs   and   results, 
Annual     charges,    cost    of    various, 
93    et   seq. 

Atlanta,    cost    of    operation,    130. 
Cleveland,    cost    of    in,    142. 
Cost   of   meters   and    setting,    92. 
New  York,  cost  of  equipping  with, 
and   saving  effected,    91   et  seq., 
98. 
Repairs,   annual   cost  of,   93. 
Meter    "Trust,"    possibility    of,    90. 
Milwaukee — 

Loss  of  revenue  caused  by,  88. 
Number  of  meters  placed  in  one  year, 

63. 
New  York — 

Cost  of  e(|uipping  with,  and  saving 

effected  by.  91   et  seq.,  98. 
Extent  of  use,  Manhattan  and  Bronx, 
:o,   52. 


270 


'dcx. 


Laws  governing  use  of  in,  8,  247  ct 

seq. 
Time  required    for   general   placing, 
63. 
Pumping,  saving  in  cost  of,  due  to,  89. 
Testing,    necessity    for    periodical,    114. 
Under-registration    of,    113    et    seq. 
Use  of  water  not  restricted  by,  42,  87. 
Water   revenues,    effect   on,    88   et  seq. 
Meter    system,    Deacon,    23    et    seq. 
Metz,    35,    37,   227. 
Milwaukee — 
Meters — 

Loss    of    revenue    caused    by,    88. 
Number  placed  in  one  year,  63. 
Typhoid  death  rate,   86. 
Waste  reduction  in,  27,  28,  179  ct  seq. 
Mullhausen,   35,   38,   229. 

Newark — 

Inspection,  leakage  stopped  by,  83,  85. 
Meters,  number  placed  in  one  year,  63. 
Waste   reduction  in,    23,   183   et  seq. 
New    York — 
Brooklyn — 

Future    provision    for,    77,    80. 
Typhoid    death    rate    in,    87. 
Inspection,    systematic,    to    be   adopted, 

SI,    118. 
Leakage  and  Wastage — 

Estimate  of,  Manhattan  and  Bronx, 

61    et    seq. 
Extent   of    controllable    in,    60. 
Methods    of    controlling    in,    81    et 

seq. 
Stoppage  of  essential  to  escape  wa- 
ter  famine,   75. 
Extent  of  saving  by,  74,  Diagram  1. 
Meter    measurements,    quantity    of   wa- 
ter sold  by,  Manhattan  and  Bronx, 
52. 
Meter    rates,    251. 
Meter  revenues,  Manhattan  and  Bronx, 

50. 
Meters — 

Cost  of  equipping  with,  and  saving 

effected,    91    et    seq.,    98. 
Extent     of     use,     Manhattan     and 

Bronx,    50,    52. 
Laws  governing  use  of,   in,    8,   247 

et  seq. 
Time   required    for   general   placing, 
63. 
Queens,    future   provision    for,    77,    80. 
Richmond,     future    provision    for,    77, 

80. 
Transient    population,     effect    on    con- 
sumption,   64. 
Water,  Consumption  and  use  of. 
Average  exceeds  safe  supply,   75. 
Domestic    uses,    54    et    seq.,    57    et 

seq.    62,   72. 
Future,  estimate  for  1925,  258. 
Graphic    exhibit,    past,    present    and 

future.    Diagram    1. 
Night  analysis  of,  122  et  seq. 
Non-domestic    uses,    72. 
Per   capita,   62,    72,    88. 
Present,    3,    14,    56,    258. 
Public  uses,   57   et   seq.,  60,   62. 
Storage,     dangerous     drafts     upon, 

73. 
Transient  population,  effect  on,  64. 
Unaccounted-for    water,    62. 


271 


Water-rents,    scale    of,    251. 

Water-revenues,    260. 

Water  supply   of    (see   "Water    Supply 
of   New    York"). 

Water-wastage  and  leakage,  107  et  seq. 
Non-domestic  uses  of  water   (see  "Water, 

uses    of"). 
Niirnberg,  35,  38,   227. 

Offenbach,    33,    36,    225. 
Olive    Bridge,    76. 

Per  capita  consumption    (see   "Water,   use 

of"). 
Philadelphia — 

Illicit   takings   of    water    in,    113. 

Typhoid    death    rate,    87. 
Plumbing — 

Defective,    waste    and    leakage    due    to, 
42. 

England,    inspection   of,    21. 

Manchester,   inspection   of,   22. 

Regulation    of    a    necessity,    21. 

Repairs,    cost   of,    101. 
Potsdam,   33,   39,   48,   229. 
Poughkeepsie,  waste   reduction  in,  27,   28. 
Providence — 

Typhoid  death  rate,  86. 

Waste  reduction  in,  28,  188  et  seq. 
Public    uses    of    water    (see    "Water,    Use 

of). 
Public   health,   effect   of   metering   on,    86. 
Pumpage,    errors    in    quantity    based    on, 

109   et  seq. 

Quedlinburg,    33,   39,    48,    229. 
Queens,    future   provision   for,    77,    80. 

References,  list  of,   231  et  seq. 
Regensburg,    35,   37,   227. 
Reservoirs — 
Ashokan.   76. 
Croton   River — 

Capacity    of    and    limitations    upon, 

68. 
Impracticable    increase    in    size    re- 
quired to  obtain  more  water,  75. 
Cross    River,    70. 
Functions    of,    259. 
Mt.    Vernon,    proposed    near,    76. 
Richmond,   Va. — 

Meters,  leakage  stopped  by,   84. 
Waste  reduction  in.   25,   192   et  seq. 
Richmond   Borough,    future   provision   for, 

77,    80. 
Ridgefield,    46. 
Rudolstadt,    33,    36,    47,    225. 

Saint   Louis — 

Typhoid    death    rate,    87. 

Waste   reduction   in   23,    194. 
Shipping,    use    of    r.ietered    water    by,    50. 
Springfield,    waste    reduction    in     '^5,    196. 
Stanley    Act,    6. 
State   Water   Commission,   266. 
Stettin,    33,    36,    225. 
Storage    of    Water — 

Croton  River,  limitations  of,  "i9,  70. 

Drafts  upon,  years  of  excess  ^. 

Effect   upon   quality,   69. 
Stralsund,   33,    36,    47,   225. 
Strassburg,    33,    39,   48,    229. 
Street    Mains — 

Leakage   and   losses   from,   14,  117 

et    seq. 


Index. 


Testing,   118. 
Syracuse — 

Public    uses,    59. 

Waste  reduction  in,  25,  46,  199  et  seq. 

Taunton,   waste  reduction   in,  25,   46,   206 
et    seq. 

Transient   population,    effect   on   consump- 
tion in   New  York,   64. 

Typhoid    fever — 

Relation  to   metering,   86   et   seq. 
Lowell,    172. 

Unaccounted-for  water    (see   "Water,   Use 

of"). 
Use  of  water   (see  "Water,  Use  of"). 

Wappinger's  Creek,  76. 

Ware,    46. 

Water   Consumption   and    use   of-^ 

Commercial     and     manufacturing    pur- 
poses,   57,    62. 
Domestic     purposes — 

Manhattan   and    Bronx,    54    et   seq., 

57    et    seq.,    62. 
Per  capita,  present  and  future.  New 

York,  72. 
Quantity    required    for,    54    et   seq., 
57. 
Illicit    takings,    113,    118. 
New   York — 

Average  exceeds  safe  supply,   75. 
Domestic  uses,  54  et  seq.,  57  et  seq., 

62,    72. 
Future,    estimate   for   1925,   258. 
Graphic    exhibit,    past,    present    and 

future,   Diagram   1. 
Night,  analysis  of,  122  et  seq. 
Non-domestic   uses,   72. 
Present,   3,  14,   56,   258. 
Public  uses,  57  et  seq.,  60,  62. 
Storage  and  dangerous  drafts  upon, 

73. 
Transient  population,  effect  on,  64. 
Unaccounted-for  water,  62. 
Night— 

Bayonne,  tests,  120  et  seq. 
Erroneous   deductions   from,  120   et 

seq. 
New  York,  analysis  of,  122  et  seq. 
Non-Domestic — 

Discussion  of,   50  et  seq. 
New   York,    analysis   of,    72. 
Per    Capita — 

German  cities,   reasons  for  low,  30. 
New  York,   62,   72,   88. 
Several  cities.  Diagram  2. 
Public- 
American   cities,    41. 
Discussion  of,  54   et  seq. 
German  cities,    41. 
Madison,    59. 

New  York,  57  et  seq.,  60,  62. 
Syracuse,    59. 
Shipping,    50. 
Stanley   Act,    7. 


Transient    population,    effect    in    New 

York,    64. 
Unaccounted-for- 
American   cities,   45  et   seq. 
Causes    of,    44. 
Discussion   of,    107    et   seq. 
German  cities,  46  et  seq. 
New    York,    62. 

Illicit  takings,  20,  113  et  seq.,   118. 
Street  mains,  leaks   from,   119. 
Water  Distribution   System,   259. 
Water  famine,  danger  of,  15,  71,  74,  257. 

257. 
Water  measurements  of,  causes   of  errors 

in,    107    et   seq. 
Water  rents  in  New  York,  scale  of,  251. 
Water    revenues — 
From   meters,   50. 
New    York,    260. 
Water,    Storage   of — 

Croton  River,  limits  of  storage,  68,  69, 

70. 
Dangerous  drafts  upon,  73. 
Deterioration  of  stored  water,   69. 
Water   Supply  of  New  York — 
Additional    Supply — 
Data,  source   of,   103. 
Future,  table  showing  provision  for, 

78. 
Quantity  provided,  sufficient  for  16 

years,    76,    77. 
Quantity  provided,  sufficient  for  30 

years   if   metered,    77. 
Works    for,    76. 
Committee   on.    Report  of,   3. 
Cost    of,    255. 

Future    conditions,    discussion    of,    72. 
General    conditions,    summary    of,    255 

et  seq. 
Sanitary  supervision,    260. 
Water   Wastage   and   Leakage — 

American    cities,    waste    reduction    in, 

42,   127  et  seq. 
Control,  methods  of,  15,  17  et  seq. 
Extent   of,   5,    13,   263. 

Misleading    statements    as    to,    107, 
117. 
German  cities,   waste  reduction  in,   29, 

42,    220    et   seq. 
Inspection,    control   bv,   20. 
Measurement,    control    by,    20. 
Metered   water,   waste  of,   113. 
New  York,  analysis  of  in,   107  et   seq. 
Plumbing,  due  to  defective,   42. 
Restriction    of   use   not   a  consequence 

of  stoppage  of,  17. 
Street  mains,  14,  60,   117  et  seq.,   118. 
Weimar,  33,  39,  48,  229. 
Wellesley,   27,    28,    46,    209    et   seq. 
West   Orange,    46,    110,    212. 
Woonsocket,    46. 
Worcester,   46. 
Worms,   33,   34,   39,   48.    229. 
Wiirtzburg,   35,   37,    227. 

Yonkers,  28,  46,  313  et  seq. 


272 


26v 


WASTE  OF  WATER  IN  NEW 
YORK  AND  ITS  REDUCTION 
BY  METERS  AND  INSPECTION 


A  REPORT  BY  JAMES  H.  FUERTES,  C.  E.,  TO 
THE  COMMITTEE  ON  WATER-SUPPLY  OF  THE 
MERCHANTS'  ASSOCIATION   OF   NEW  YORK 


** 


JUNE,  1906 
THE  MERCHANTS'  ASSOCIATION  OF  NEW  YORK 


BOARD   OF   DIRECTORS 

OF 

THE   MERCHANTS'  ASSOCIATION    OF   NEW  YORK 


Term  Expiring  January,  IQO? 
Wm    a.  Marble,     .     .     .   Vice-Pres.  R  &  G  Corset  Co.,  395  Broadway 

GusTAV   H.    Schwab,    . Oelrichs  &  Co.,  5  Broadway 

Charles  R.  Lamb, J.  &  R-  Lamb,  59  Carmine  St. 

Daniel  P.  Morse,         ....     Pres.  Morse  &  Rogers,  134  Duane  St. 

Term  Expiring  January,  1908 

Geo    Fred'k  Vietor,     ....  Vietor  &  Achelis,  66  Leonard  St. 

George  L.  Duval, Wessel,  Duval  &  Co.,  25  Broad  St. 

W.  H.  McCord, Post  &  McCord,  44  East  23d  St. 


Henry  R.  Towne,    .     . 
J.  Hampden  Dougherty, 
Clarence  Whitman,    . 
Thomas  H.  Downing,  . 
James  H.  Killough,    . 


Term  Expiring  January,   1909 

Pres.  Yale  &  Towne  Mfg.  Co.,  9  Murray  St. 
Dougherty,  Olcott  &  Tenney,  27  William  St. 
.  Clarence  Whitman  &  Co.,  39  Leonard  St. 
.  R.  F.  Downing  &  Co.,  13  William  St. 
.     .       J.  H.  Killough  &  Co.,  157  West  St. 


M 


Forni  45 


7i^2.e. 


M   538 


Merchant?'    assoc.    of  N.Y 


Wa^te   of  water   in  N.Y.   &   its^ 
reduction  by  meters  &   insoec- 


Form  47 


35S.6  M538 

PENNSYLVANIA  STATE  LIBRARY 


Harrisburg 


45450 


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